New Jersey Council of County Colleges Selects New Leadership

The New Jersey Council of County Colleges has selected Sheetal Ranjan, Ph.D., a member of the Board of Trustees of Bergen Community College, to serve as chair of the statewide network of 18 Community Colleges at the Council’s meeting on November 20, 2023. Jessica Stewart, a member of the Board of Trustees at Camden County College, was selected as Vice Chair.

Dr. Ranjan has served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Council since 2019 and has served as a Trustee at Bergen Community College since 2017. On the national level, Dr. Ranjan has served as a national leader as the northeast regional director on the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) board of directors.

A resident of Teaneck, NJ, Dr. Ranjan is a professor of criminal justice at Montclair State University and focused her research on domestic and campus violence. Ranjan holds a B.A. and an M.A. from the University of Madras, Chennai, India, an M.A. from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and a Ph.D. from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

“New Jersey’s 18 Community Colleges transform the lives of New Jerseyans, from all backgrounds and of all ages. Community Colleges provide pathways to further education and economic opportunity while building the skilled workforce that propels economic growth. I am honored to serve as the chair of the New Jersey Council of County Colleges and to help advance the critical mission of New Jersey’s 18 Community Colleges,” said Ranjan.

Jessica Stewart has served on the Executive Committee of the Council since 2020 and as a Trustee at Camden County College since 2017. Stewart, a resident of Merchantville, is a 2009 graduate of Camden County College and a graduate of Rutgers University with a BA in English.

On the national level, Ms. Stewart serves as the Northeast representative for the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) State, Province & Territories Coordinators Network.

Also elected to continue their leadership as members of the Council’s Executive Committee were Dorothy Hall, a trustee at Salem Community College and Mary M. Zimmermann, a trustee at Union College of Union County, NJ. President Michael R. Gorman, of Salem Community College, was selected to serve as Secretary of the Council, serving as the Chair of the state’s Community College Presidents. President Frederick Keating, of Rowan College of South Jersey was selected to serve as Treasurer, and Anthony J. Iacono, of County College of Morris, was selected to serve as an Executive Committee Member.

Also, at the November 20, 2023 meeting, the Council honored Mary M. Zimmermann for her two years of service as Chair of the Council. Ms. Zimmermann will continue to serve on the Executive Committee.

The Council presented Mary with a Joint Legislative Resolution and a letter from Governor Murphy thanking her for her leadership to community colleges and their students. Under her leadership, the Council fostered a new spirit of collaboration and innovation among the state’s community colleges and worked with the Governor and the Legislature to expand state investment in community colleges and their students.

About the New Jersey Council of County Colleges

The New Jersey Council of County Colleges (NJCCC) was created in 1989 to coordinate, support and strengthen
New Jersey’s 18 Community Colleges. The Community Colleges now enroll more than 180,000 people each year in
credit, non-credit, and workforce development courses at more than 70 campuses throughout the state.

To learn more about NJCCC and New Jersey’s Community Colleges, go to www.njcommunitycolleges.org. Follow us @NJCommColleges on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube to learn more about our latest programs and initiatives.