Dr. Michael A. Palladino Fostering Generational Success Through Higher Education

Following an extensive national search, Stockton University welcomed Dr. Michael A. Palladino as the University’s next provost and vice president of Academic Affairs in May 2024. In this leadership role, Dr. Palladino is Stockton’s chief academic officer and oversees more than 160 undergraduate and graduate programs and 700 full and part-time faculty members. His path to pursuing a career in higher education began during his own college experience and his exposure to collaborative research as an undergrad. “I grew up in Bridgewater and I’m a proud product of New Jersey K-12 and higher education,” says Palladino. “I went to Trenton State College and had a faculty member take me under his wing for a research project. That experience was greater than any didactic classroom experience and propelled me to go to graduate school and pursue a career in higher education at a smaller to medium sized institution. I’m a first-generation Italian American and the first of my family to earn a graduate degree. I’ve experienced the generational success that higher education can provide, and it has guided me in many ways throughout my career.”

Gaining Experience and Insight
Following his first faculty position at Brookdale Community College, Palladino moved to Monmouth University where he spent the next twenty years of his career. “My background is in molecular biology and genetics, so I worked through the faculty ranks in this discipline,” shares Palladino. “I was recruited under a new teacher scholar model where you are expected to be an active scholar, conduct research with undergraduate students, and seek external funding. I had the first National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant in the history of the University. The dean at the time was very supportive of me and recommended me as his replacement when he retired. Along with being a professor of Biology, I made the leap to become the dean of the School of Science, and later vice provost for Graduate Studies.”

During his career at Monmouth, Palladino’s research focus was in the molecular biology of male reproductive organs and how these organs innately protect their cells against bacterial and viral infections. “I was very fortunate to have continuous external funding throughout my entire tenure at Monmouth and had more than 75 students working with me in my lab, along with presenting and publishing—it was incredibly rewarding. My role as dean provided an opportunity to have a greater impact on the institution, including a new science building, and launching a very successful externally funded summer research program that continues today. During this time, I also began work as a textbook author. I co-authored two different leading genetics textbooks with my former genetics professor and advisor, Steve Klug. A colleague and I have the leading textbook in biotechnology, Introduction to Biotechnology 4/e, which has been translated into five languages and used by 90 percent of colleges and universities around the world.”

In May 2020, Palladino said he had a calling to head in a new direction and became the vice president of Academic Affairs and dean of faculty at Bloomfield College. “At the time, Bloomfield was New Jersey’s only four-year institution designated as a Predominantly Black Institution (PBI), Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), and Minority Serving Institution (MSI), where sixty percent of students are first generation. This really appealed to me, and I was excited to make a difference in my new role. One of the fascinating things about Bloomfield is our students often come from households where the family income is around $32,000. In the last year of our graduate surveys, our students were making more than $62,000 on average. In one generational cycle, one student graduate is doubling—sometimes tripling—family income. Higher education can help promote social mobility and be a game changer for many individuals.”

In 2023, Palladino was part of the leadership team that developed a historic partnership that merged Bloomfield with Montclair State University. “I learned a tremendous amount about the merger and acquisition process, accreditation, and legal and federal approvals,” says Palladino. “Then as of this May, I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to join Stockton University and be part of this wonderful university community of faculty and staff who are dedicated to the success of their students. My leadership mantra is that we facilitate the success of others; we must reduce barriers and provide opportunities that help students and faculty succeed.”

Enhancing Student Success Strategies
With a wide variety of experiences throughout his career, Palladino says he’s leveraging these insights to help Stockton grow in new directions. “My work as a STEM dean and in graduate education, combined with my experience of building partnerships at the corporate and community level, will allow me to engage my networks and continue to shine a light on the excellent work that is happening here at Stockton. Among my top priorities is leading our new strategic planning process and engaging all members of the campus community collectively. Our current plan expires in 2025, so this is an opportunity to reboot and prioritize what makes Stockton unique. Part of our planning process will include a strategic plan for our campus in Atlantic City and the role of our other satellite locations. This is also an opportunity through strategic planning to advance the University’s strong standing in this region of the state.”

“Stockton is an anchor institution, but we want to determine how we can better define and accelerate that role, not only for our immediate municipalities, but for the region,” continues Palladino. “Another top priority is learning the culture of what matters to our faculty, staff, and students. This includes building trust, transparency, and collaboration as I get to know the Stockton community. We have over 350 full-time faculty members, and I’m committed to meeting one on one with every person to learn what they are passionate about, what they love about Stockton, and what they need to succeed. Part of the learning venture is also working closely with our deans, staff, senates, and union leadership. These relationships are very important to shaping a culture of care that is a top priority for our institution.”

Along with creating an environment that promotes dignity, civility, kindness, compassion, and respect, enhancing strategies for student success is among Stockton’s core initiatives. “Our student demographic is changing and we want to continue to help them succeed and earn their degree,” says Palladino. “An important part of this goal is supporting faculty and staff who are integral to this work. We must determine what professional development opportunities and resources are needed to help them advance within their own trajectories. We want to advance the teacher-scholar model of development as a university where we involve undergraduate and graduate students in our research and secure external research funding. To inspire our faculty to engage in scholarship, we must ensure we have the support structure in place to do so.”

Similar to many higher education institutions, Stockton is examining program opportunities in graduate education, adult education, and credit and non-credit continuing studies. “As our demographic evolves and our students come to us at different life stages and with a variety of career ambitions, we must determine how best to support them,” says Palladino. “We are also examining our centers and institutes and what their role is in education and outreach. We’re looking at how these centers connect our academic programs, provide distinct experiences for our students, and work for us in our overall academic enterprise.”

Promoting Diversity and Inclusion
Stockton is committed to building a respectful community for their diverse student body and strives to promote inclusion in the curriculum and in its internal and external communities. “We have the opportunity to serve populations that have historically been underserved by higher education, and thus, use education to lift up communities through generations,” says Palladino. “Working in diverse teams benefits our ability to solve problems. While at Bloomfield College, I was very fortunate to work with the president who is a national leader on DEI issues, and now President Bertolino of Stockton, who has dedicated his career to social justice and student access and success. It is important to lead by example, so we must ensure that the decisions we make and the processes we have in place support and reinforce equity. We must have clear practices that are inclusive and ensure everyone is welcome, valued, and has the opportunity to contribute to our mission.”

“In my previous institution, I worked with several teams committed to the success of underserved students,” continues Palladino. “We had received over $9 million in funding for student success initiatives, mostly federal, but some state awards, to support the recruitment and retention of underserved students, particularly black and brown students. While many of these programs support some of our most vulnerable students, there are programs I’m looking to scale just to support students in general. I’m also very pleased that Stockton has been accepted as one of five institutions to work with the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU). This organization has established the Postsecondary Value Commission that identifies best practices that help close opportunity gaps and improve equitable access for students. We will be working with AASCU from a strategic planning perspective to determine how we accomplish our DEI initiatives and tie them to our strategic plan.”

Fostering a Culture of Scholarship and Research
To further develop Stockton’s culture of scholarship and research, Palladino says partnering with local industries and business communities will be a key part of this initiative. “We have advanced facilities on our main campus and satellite locations, as well as an impressive cadre of faculty subject matter experts skilled in research. For example, our Coastal Research Center and Marine Field Station (MFS) work with more than two dozen municipalities up and down the coast. They examine important issues related to climate change and sea level rise which can make a difference from a science and policy and planning perspective.”

The Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism (LIGHT), part of Stockton’s School of Business, provides a forum for public policy discussions regarding the gaming, hospitality, and tourism industries in New Jersey. “LIGHT involves students and faculty on survey research that is very valuable for local industries in the hospitality and gaming space,” explains Palladino. “Stockton is also looking at what opportunities we can scale with an ongoing partnership with the National Aerospace Research and Technology Park that is a few minutes from our campus. Another area of research we’re exploring is in sustainable science. We currently have a great deal of activity, but there are emerging opportunities, especially related to offshore wind energy in the area. Our innovation potential is not just in the basic and applied sciences and clinical fields, but also in the art and creative fields. Our faculty brings an interdisciplinary perspective to solving complex problems, especially at the intersection of social sciences and humanities. I see this as a significant strength of our university.”

As Stockton expands their research capabilities, an important focus is setting appropriate expectations given teaching workloads, support structures, and facilities. “In my one-on-one meetings with faculty, there are discussions about the challenges and opportunities we’re seeing in the research space,” says Palladino. “We must find the right balance and be both realistic and strategic in how we actively engage students as partners in our research and scholarly work.”

Embracing Emerging Technology
To keep pace with digital transformation in higher education, Stockton continues to examine emerging technologies and practices that can enhance the learning experience. “Modern technology is clearly essential to our work at the University, but it’s not a substitute for caring faculty and staff,” says Palladino. “Like most institutions, we continue to modernize our systems to work effectively and efficiently, but we’re also making significant investments in technology to help us better support current students to ensure their success. There are tools that can help institutions conduct predictive analytics on what matters most to students in very granular ways and make more data-informed decisions. We also want to help our faculty and staff learn how to use these technological tools to enhance and expand their teaching capabilities.”

“We must also explore how technology can enrich experiences inside and outside the classroom to all of our majors and education programs,” continues Palladino. “Students entering the workforce will need to be versed in a variety of technologies. This can be a determining factor in their career success and advancement, no matter what field they are pursuing. In looking specifically at artificial intelligence, it is our responsibility as a university to teach students how to utilize this tool, including the advantages, limitations, and best practices. While there is a great deal of fear around AI replacing people in the workplace, the focus must be that the people who know how to use AI will outcompete or replace those who do not have these skills. We have an obligation to integrate AI into our curriculum to educate on its appropriate and ethical use.”

To consider how to sustainably integrate AI technology into the curriculum to assist teaching and enhance student learning, the Faculty Senate at Stockton created a faculty-led task force on artificial intelligence. “The task force has provided an excellent framework for considerations across campus for policy development and training and professional development,” says Palladino. “They work closely with our Center for Teaching and Learning Design and we’ve already started to implement some of the recommendations from this very productive think tank. I’m also pleased to share that Stockton has been selected to participate in a virtual institute on AI led by the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). This collaborative forum will be part of the national conversation on AI policy development and best practices, and we’re going to use that as a platform to guide the changes we can make on our own campus.”

Strengthening Workforce Development
To further enhance Stockton’s educational programs and research portfolio, the University continues to build partnerships within the higher education space and beyond. “Collaboration should always be a priority for higher education institutions,” says Palladino. “We must listen and be ready to be good partners in sharing our resources and expertise. What pragmatic and realistic efforts can we make that will be mutually beneficial to the greater community? Perhaps that is addressing educational needs, growing new programs, or supporting local workforce and employee needs. As an anchor institution, Stockton views Atlantic City and surrounding communities and counties as integral partners. I’m spending time talking to business and community leaders on economic and workforce development boards and chambers of commerce to determine how best we can collaborate.”

“By working with these partners, we can create an educational needs assessment to pinpoint what skills and education are needed in these industries,” continues Palladino. “For example, we have a strong partnership with AtlantiCare Health System who is doing very innovative work in this area. This collaboration not only enhances healthcare education, but provides significant benefits to the health and well-being of our residents. As we continue to build our network, I’m very eager to work with our higher ed and community college partners locally and across the state, as well as Edge and their member organizations.”

“Edge has established itself as a valued resource and partner for our institutions of higher education throughout the region,” says Palladino. “As the consortium has developed, it has been a remarkable asset for our state’s research and innovation ecosystem. I view Edge as an important connector and organizer. The AI Teaching & Learning Symposium was a great example of bringing institutions and thought leaders together to discuss a pertinent topic and sharing lessons learned. Institutions of higher education all have similar missions, and Edge provides support and services, as well as a collaborative platform, to improve pedagogical support, incorporate technology, and identify collaborative funding opportunities.”

Dr. Forough Ghahramani, Assistant Vice President for Research, Innovation, and Sponsored Programs, Edge, says “Dr. Palladino has made many contributions to higher education in New Jersey. I am excited to see the impact of his visionary leadership in advancing the mission of Stockton. Edge is pleased to partner with Stockton University to help advance their research and education initiatives through Edge’s advanced high performance network capability and many collaboration opportunities.”

Palladino adds, “Historically, many students want to go back into their local communities to make a difference. Building collaborative partnerships will be a key component in strengthening workforce development and keeping more students in New Jersey after graduation. We want to ensure we have academic programs with the right delivery modalities that serve students’ needs. There are progressive opportunities we must continue to explore to retain our talent pool, like pipeline programs or offsetting the cost of higher education if students remain in the state. This approach not only supports our students but also fortifies the local economy, fostering a lasting cycle of growth and opportunity.”