By Ally Uhlendorf and Isabella Darcy
Managing Editor and News Editor
Michael A. Bernstein was formally appointed the College’s 17th president on June 6. Following his service as interim president since July 2023, the permanent presidency is effective immediately.
“I'm delighted about the formal appointment,” Bernstein said in an interview with The Signal. “I've been doing the job, as you know, for about 11 months. So the work just continues.”
Bernstein, originally residing in San Diego, California, has discussed plans to make New Jersey his new home, balancing his professional responsibilities and personal life.
“For personal reasons, I've traveled back to California on a regular basis. But my home base becomes New Jersey,” Bernstein said. “I’m living in the official residence of the TCNJ president, which is wonderful. So I enjoy that very much and I'm very grateful for it.”
Bernstein said his family will not be relocating to New Jersey, as they are anchored on the West Coast.
“My travel as president will probably increase now with my formal appointment in terms of doing work in raising funds for the college, meeting with alumni around the country, engaging with elected officials both in Trenton and in Washington, D.C.,” Bernstein said. “So I expect that there'll be a lot of travel around those engagements, which is pretty typical for most college presidents.”
Student reactions to the new appointment have varied, reflecting on diverse concerns and hopes for the campus community. Through various comments on both the College’s official Instagram and The Signal’s Instagram, students have expressed worries of the president’s travel costs, the LIONS Plan and other upcoming initiatives.
In response, Bernstein emphasized his approach of being judged by actions rather than titles.
“I’ve always believed that actions speak louder than words, so I will always try to explain what I’m doing and why I’m doing it,” Bernstein said. “But, at the same time, we’re looking for results and the results that generate the best possible outcomes for our college — so that’s what I’m focused on.”
Bernstein has plans to become even more engaged in the campus community and become involved directly with students.
“I’m always eager to spend more time with the students and communicate formally with the campus, through various updates and messages as required,” Bernstein said. “But, the opportunity to informally interact with people and spend time with them will be very welcome too, so I’m looking forward to that.”
It is a tense time for many colleges and universities, in light of the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. Protests have disrupted higher-education campuses across the United States, with many protesters calling for schools to “cut financial ties with companies that facilitate Israel’s war in Gaza,” according to The Washington Post.
Multiple college presidents have been called upon to resign because of their response to protests on their respective campuses.
The College experienced student activism last academic year in response to the war, but on a smaller scale compared to institutions like Columbia University and Harvard University, where typical campus life was disrupted by larger forms of protests such as encampments earlier this year.
At the College, people from differing roles in the campus community addressed the conflict. Students led demonstrations, professors hosted a panel to contextualize the conflict and student groups hosted events aiming to teach and support.
“I couldn't be prouder of the College,” Bernstein said. “I think the College has managed itself very, very well.”
Bernstein said his goal in any interaction related to the conflict is to closely examine what exactly is going on, determine if it is consistent with the values of the campus community and then decide if it can go on or if a line needs to be drawn.
“I'm optimistic and hopeful, especially on the basis of what happened this past year,” Bernstein said. “I think we have a good community here.”
At the end of the fall 2023 semester, Bernstein announced a plan called LIONS, which stands for “Linking Innovation with Operational Nimbleness and Sustainability.” Bernstein has since been providing monthly updates to the plan as it progresses toward its mission of reducing or eliminating the College’s expected budget deficits.
The president said that he and working groups are currently deciding which aspects of the LIONS Plan final recommendations, released in May, will be implemented, modified or discarded. Bernstein said he recognizes that the decision making process takes a while, and he appreciates the patience of the community as final decisions are worked through.
“We've accomplished a great deal, I think, this past year in terms of stabilizing our budget and making sure the budget is sustainable in the years ahead,” Bernstein said, “but there's still more work to do.”
In Bernstein’s LIONS Plan April update, the president announced in an email to the campus community that the School of Continuing, Extended and Professional Studies working group “completed a draft business plan for the school that outlines how it will achieve planned net revenue growth from $550,000 in FY26 to $4 million in FY28.” Bernstein told The Signal that the School of Graduate, Global and Online Education, which is the current working name of the school, is “definitely launching.”
It is unknown exactly when the school will launch, but the president said that building it out to its full operational volume will take one or two years.
“This is a great opportunity for us, for the College, and yes it will generate more revenue for the College, too,” Bernstein said.
Growing enrollment is another way to increase revenue. The College had a positive admissions outcome this year, marked by an escalation in applications and enrollment. Enrollment targets were exceeded for first-year students, transfer students and pathway students.
It is possible that even more students will be admitted to the College before this upcoming semester, following the recent closures of the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and Delaware College of Art and Design. In response to the closings, the College has reopened its application and waived the application fee to students of those schools through July 1.
Taking into consideration the current state and future of the College, Bernstein expressed enthusiasm for his new permanent role as president.
“I'm tremendously excited about and delighted about my ongoing work with the College,” Bernstein said. “I believe in our college. As I said in my communication to the campus last week, I've come to love the College too.”
