Stockton College Names New Deans, New Police Chief

The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey named two new deans and a new police chief at its Board of Trustees meeting, the college announced on Wednesday.

Dr. Theresa Bartolotta was named as the new dean of the School of Health Sciences and Dr. Lisa Honaker was confirmed as dean of the School of Arts and Humanities (ARHU). Gregory J. Coffin was appointed as the new police chief of the Campus Police.

“Stockton is extremely pleased and excited about the hiring of these three consummate professionals,” President Herman J. Saatkamp said. “Their credentials and achievements are exemplary and they will provide first-rate leadership into the future.”

Bartolotta, who will begin her work at Stockton in July, recently has served Seton Hall University in the Office of the Provost as Director of Assessment for Academic Affairs. She earned her Ph.D. in Health Sciences from Seton Hall.

In the Office of the Provost as Director of Assessment for Academic Affairs, she co-founded the University Assessment Center and worked with academic and co-curricular units across campus to advance assessment efforts at the university. She also has extensive experience in accreditation.

She holds a master of arts degree in Speech Pathology from Queens College of the City University of New York and a Bachelor of Science degree in Speech from Mercy College.   

Prior to her service in the Office of the Provost, she served as associate dean for Health Sciences in the School of Health and Medical Sciences at Seton Hall.

In that role, she oversaw six graduate departments, including Athletic Training, Health Sciences, Occupational Therapy, Physician Assistant, Physical Therapy, and Speech-Language Pathology.  

Her research interests include communication in individuals with complex developmental disabilities, including autism and Rett syndrome, the most physically disabling brain disorder on the autism spectrum, which occurs almost exclusively in girls. Dr. Bartolotta is known internationally for her research and publications on Rett syndrome.

She served on the research and professional development, library, and faculty review committees as well as a number of projects and initiatives involving community and civic engagement. 

She received her Ph.D. in English from Rutgers University in 1993 and taught at Rutgers and Fordham.

Her dissertation and subsequent research and publications concerned the development of British fiction from the 19th century to the present, with particular interest in the ways in which it embodies and intervenes in colonial and postcolonial issues.

Her other research and teaching interests include literature and the environment, rhetoric and composition, and media and popular culture.

As coordinator of the Visiting Writer Series from 2004-2007, Honaker brought a variety of local and nationally known writers to read their work for the greater Stockton community. 

During that same time period, she directed the Odyssey Project, a collaborative initiative meant to address issues of “senior slump” and college preparedness, involving Stockton faculty, three area high schools, and The New York Times. 

From 2007 to the present, she has led the Political Engagement Project (PEP), which brings brought together faculty from various disciplines as well as administrators and staff from across the college, all interested in fostering a greater interest in civic and political engagement at Stockton and the communities it serves. 

Coffin served as a uniformed trooper and detective and worked his way up to the rank of lieutenant before being assigned as an assistant bureau chief.

He will lead the Campus Police Department, a full-service law enforcement agency that has received national recognition from the Commission for the Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies and state accreditation from the New Jersey Association of Chiefs of Police Accreditation Commission. The department works in conjunction with local, county, state, and federal agencies.

There was a public hearing on tuition as required by law; however, President Saatkamp noted that until the state budget is approved, it is difficult to determine what, if any, change there will be in tuition.  He said the college has several financial scenarios under consideration, depending on state aid.

The trustees also set new meal plan and housing rates. Meal plans are increasing 2.9 percent while housing rates varied from no increase to 1.5 percent or 2 percent increases, depending in the location chosen.