Stockton University Appoints New Chief Academic Officer

On Feb 23, 2024

The Stockton University Board of Trustees approved the hiring of Michael A. Palladino as the university’s next provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at its Feb. 21 public meeting.

Following an extensive national search, the university announced Palladino as the top candidate in December. Palladino, who is currently vice chancellor for Academic Affairs at Bloomfield College of Montclair State University, will begin his new role at Stockton May 6.

The provost and vice president for Academic Affairs is the chief academic officer at Stockton, providing leadership to the university’s more than 160 undergraduate and graduate programs and 700 faculty members.

“As I mentioned in the fall during my State of the University Address, one of my first goals as president was to conduct a national search for our next chief academic officer and to select a new provost who will be a first among equals on the leadership team,” President Joe Bertolino said.

“Dr. Palladino brings three decades of experience in higher education with roles as a faculty member, dean and vice president, and we are extremely fortunate to have him here,” Bertolino said.

In his current role, Palladino oversees all functions related to undergraduate and graduate programs, advising, registrar, academic centers and the faculty. Since joining Bloomfield College in 2020, he launched the Center for Student Success, which led efforts to substantially enhance academic support services for students, focused on institutional assessment, and was part of the executive team to form a strategic merger-partnership with Montclair State University.

“I truly could not be happier to be joining this wonderful university community. I was very impressed with the search process that brought me here. It demonstrated the care and commitment that faculty and staff have for each other and for our students,” Palladino said.” The breadth of involvement across the university clearly signaled how steering academic affairs successfully requires collaboration and partnership with all areas of the institution.”

Palladino is the former vice provost for Graduate Studies, dean and professor of Biology at Monmouth University. He holds a Ph.D. in Anatomy and Cell Biology from the University of Virginia and a bachelor’s degree from Trenton State College, now The College of New Jersey.

Also at the meeting, the board approved Bachelor of Science degrees in Entrepreneurship and Criminal Justice, which will now be reviewed by the New Jersey Presidents’ Council and the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education. Stockton’s current Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice would transition to a B.S. if approved.

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