Three New Jersey Community College Leaders and Innovators Honored by the Association of Community College Trustees
Mary Zimmerman, Maria Ferrara, and Dr. Michele Rotunda received Northeast Regional awards from the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) at the 2024 National Congress in Seattle, Washington, for their outstanding contributions to their colleges. All were also finalists for prestigious national awards.
Mary M. Zimmermann, a trustee at UCNJ, Union College of Union County, NJ, received the Northeast Regional Trustee Leadership Award. Zimmerman was also named a finalist for the prestigious 2024 M. Dale Ensign Trustee Leadership Award. Zimmermann has served as a member of the Board of Trustees and the Board of Governors of UCNJ since 2006. A graduate of UCNJ (Class of 2001) and of Rutgers University, Zimmermann is a tireless advocate for students at UCNJ and across the state of New Jersey. Zimmermann served as Chair of the New Jersey Council of County Colleges from 2021 to 2023 and is a current member of the Council’s Executive Committee.
Maria Ferrara, Executive Assistant to the Board of Trustees and the President and at Bergen Community College, received the Northeast Regional Professional Board Staff Member Award in recognition of her significant impact on the college. Maria was also named as a finalist for the 2024 ACCT Professional Board Staff Member Award. Maria joined Bergen in 2013, and during her 11-year tenure has served as the confidential point of contact and liaison between the College’s trustees, president, and counsel. She plays a critical leadership role in college events, and initiatives including the College’s commencement ceremony and “souper bowl” canned goods drive, and the first “Black Women’s Maternal Health Summit.”
Dr. Michele L. Rotunda, Professor of Economics, Government, & History at UCNJ, Union College of Union County, NJ, received the Northeast Regional Faculty Member Award and was named as a finalist for the 2024 William H. Meardy Faculty Member Award. Dr. Rotunda was honored for her dedication and commitment to her students. Dr. Rotunda is a dynamic educator who embraces experiential learning opportunities to bring history alive for her students. She serves as an advisor for the College’s History Club and was integral in the development of the College’s history program. In 2016, Dr. Rotunda received the UCNJ Neblett Prize for Educational Excellence in Teaching and Learning. Dr. Rotunda earned her M.A. in history from Rutgers-Newark/NJIT Federated Program and her Ph.D. in history from Rutgers University. She is the author of A Drunkard’s Defense: Alcohol, Murder, and Medical Jurisprudence in Nineteenth-Century America (2021).
