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Dear Members of the NJCU Community,

March is Women’s History Month—a time to reflect, to honor, and to recommit ourselves to the unfinished work of justice and equity. It is a time to lift our gaze toward the towering legacies of women who have shaped our world—not just those whose names are etched in history books, but the ones whose wisdom and sacrifice shaped our lives.  

We carry the lessons of our mothers, who bore burdens they never spoke of so that we might dream without limits. We hold the strength of our abuelas, who survived hardships we will never fully comprehend, yet met the world each day with grace, faith, and an unshakable resolve. We walk beside our sisters and our friends, who navigate the weight of expectations and still rise, lifting as they climb. These are the women who shaped our world, not through grand gestures alone, but through the quiet, unwavering acts of love, resilience, and defiance against the limitations placed before them.   

This year’s theme, "Moving Forward Together! Women Educating & Inspiring Generations," reminds us that progress is never solitary—it is built on the shoulders of those who came before us, those who dared to believe in something bigger than themselves. Those women did not simply break barriers; they made them visible. They entered spaces that were not built for them and refused to be invisible within them. They built roadmaps without compasses, navigated systems not meant to include them, and made the impossible possible.   

But here is the challenge: How do you dismantle a barrier if you cannot see it? And even when it becomes visible, how do you summon the audacity to push against it? For generations, women have answered those questions—not by waiting for permission, but by forging ahead, by tearing down walls and raising others up in their wake.  

At NJCU, we are fortunate to be part of a village where women learn, lead, teach, and transform...where they do not just open doors but hold them open for the next in line. Our institution stands on their shoulders—on their wisdom, their mentorship, their quiet sacrifices, and their bold victories.  

So this month, I invite you to do more than celebrate—to listen, to learn, and to lean into the work still ahead. Join the conversations happening across our campus. Seek out the stories of the women who shaped your own journey. Reflect on how we, together, can build a future where no ambition is stifled by bias, no dream is caged by inequity, and no potential is left unrealized. 

Let us move forward, not just in celebration, but in purpose. Let us elevate the voices of our mothers, our grandmothers, our sisters, and our friends. Let us ensure that the next generation does not just inherit progress, but understands how to defend and expand it.  

Because when we move forward together—when we link arms, lift voices, and light the way—there is no limit to how far we can go.


Interim President
New Jersey City University