The Record (Bergen County, NJ), June 8, 2007, Friday

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The Record (Bergen County, NJ)

June 8, 2007 Friday

All Editions

SECTION: LOCAL; Pg. L01

HEADLINE: New boss eager to steer BCC;

Meadows campus a leading priority

BYLINE: By PATRICIA ALEX, STAFF WRITER, North Jersey Media Group

BODY:

Bergen Community College's new president said he looks forward to spearheading creation of a satellite campus in the Meadowlands.

G. Jeremiah "Jerry" Ryan, the former president of Raritan Valley Community College in Branchburg, will take over at Bergen on July 1. He was chosen by trustees on Wednesday, when the board also authorized $80,000 for design work for the new campus.

Ryan succeeds Judith K. Winn, who is retiring after 12 years at the Paramus school. Winn will stay on for another sabbatical year - at her annual salary of $186,000 - and aid in Ryan's transition. She also will work with the college's foundation.

Ryan will be paid $175,000 in the first year of his three-year contract. "I'm pleased to have at least three years to hit the ground running and hope to have many more," said Ryan, who is 57. He and his wife will begin house hunting in Bergen County, he said.

Ryan said he expects to be active in fund raising for the college and hopes to expand the school's already formidable role in workforce development.

Ryan said the Meadowlands campus, near Giants Stadium, provides a "real legacy opportunity for me and the trustees" and will make it easier for students from the southern portion of the county to attend BCC.

Bergen is the largest of the state's community colleges with nearly 15,000 full-time students. The other finalist for the presidency was Barbara A. Viniar, executive director of the Institute for Community College Development at Cornell University. Edward J. Yaw, president of County College of Morris, withdrew his candidacy in May.

Ryan was at the helm of Raritan Valley from 2000-06. This past year he has worked for a consulting firm, the Alman Group of Westfield, advising non-profit institutions.

He was president and chief executive officer of Quincy College in Massachusetts from 1996 to 2000.

He has a bachelor's degree from Hamilton College, a master's from Stanford University, a master's from the University at Albany, State University of New York; and a doctorate in education from Nova Southeastern University. In the 2005-06 school year, Ryan, on sabbatical, was a postdoctoral fellow at the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University, where he studied the politics and leadership of the non-profit sector.

"Jerry Ryan impressed us with his vision, experience and energy," said Stephen J. Moses, president of Bergen's board.

E-mail: alex@northjersey.com

GRAPHIC: PHOTO, RYAN