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Honors & Awards

TCNJ students recognized for their academic achievements at the 2025 Sigma Tau Delta Centennial Convention

Twenty-four TCNJ students attended the Sigma Tau Delta Centennial Convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania last month, where they presented critical and creative work, participated in professional development workshops led by the Modern Language Association, and participated in roundtables focused on internships, teaching, and popular culture. 

Sigma Tau Delta members at national convention
From left top: Jaxon Liefer, Ebony Riley, Joelle DuFault, Jake Hamtil, Matthew Chinique, Emma Diamond, Catherine Gonzalez, Alexis Cherby, Stephan Stojanoski, Sian Brossard, Allison Silver, Elizabeth Klein, Lauren Farrell, Greta Soos, Stephanie Martinez, Rachel McDonald, Isabel Lindsey, Katherine Parsons, Roshni Dave, Emma Weninger, Erin Parker, Ciara Corbett, Maggie Machado, Becca Briegs

“Our students were excellent ambassadors from TCNJ and have made us all proud,” said Felicia Steele, chair of the English department. “They are a remarkable group of students.”

TCNJ’s chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, which celebrates its 30th chapter anniversary this year, was recognized at the convention as the outstanding national chapter and received a $500 cash prize. 

Faculty members Diane Steinberg and Steele were also recognized for their years of service to the organization.

Sigma Tau Delta 2025 national convention award winners
From left: Emma Diamond, Maggie Machado, Lauren Farrell, and Joelle DuFault.

This year, four students received top honors for their critical work:

Joelle DuFault ’25 won the first place prize in the Stemmler/Dennis LGBT& category for her paper “The Haunting of Gender and Sexuality in Rebecca.” 

Emma Diamond ’24, MA ’25 won the second place prize in the Critical Paper in Children’s Literature category for her paper “Anthropocentric Anthropomorphism in Children’s Literature.” 

Maggie Machado ’24, MA ’25 won the third place prize in the Critical Paper in American Literature category for her paper “An Image of Indigeneity: Orientalism in Moby-Dick.”

Lauren Farrell, a graduate student in the Special Education program, received an honorable mention for the Judson Q. Owens Convention Theme/Common Reader awards for her essay “The Dismembered Body and Generational Trauma.”

“To win an award, much less a first-place award, feels incredibly validating,” said DuFault. “It shows me that not only can I do this work — and do it well — but also the importance of independent research programs and supportive faculty.”


Leah Cruz ’26

Grad student Jaclyn Romano earns honor for student voter engagement efforts

Jaclyn Romano, a graduate student in her final semester of the Master of Public Policy program, was named to the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge Student Voting Honor Roll. Romano serves as a graduate assistant in the office of Co-Curricular and Leadership Development. Through that role, she works closely with the TCNJ Votes committee to… Continue Reading

Celebrating Student Achievement at the 21st Annual New Jersey Women’s and Gender Studies Consortium Colloquium

On Friday, March 28, 2025, students from the Women’s and Gender Studies (WGSS) program presented at the 21st Annual New Jersey Women’s and Gender Studies Consortium Colloquium, held at Rutgers University – New Brunswick. This prestigious event showcased notable student work from across the state, and TCNJ was proud to be represented by these outstanding… Continue Reading

Criminology professor honored with ASC Praxis Award

Jennifer Ortiz, associate professor of criminology, was recently honored by the American Society of Criminology for her tireless work supporting and advocating for formerly incarcerated individuals. She received the 2024 Division on Critical Criminology and Social Justice Praxis Award at a ceremony on November 14, 2024, at the ASC Annual Meeting in San Francisco, California. … Continue Reading

TCNJ receives $500,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation

The College of New Jersey was awarded a grant of $500,000 by the Mellon Foundation’s Higher Learning program. The grant will provide funding for Undocumented. Black. Citizen., a three-year, collaborative multi-disciplinary project that aims to co-create teaching resources about citizenship, belonging, migration, and Blackness centering the experiences of Black undocumented immigrants in and beyond Trenton, New Jersey. Led by… Continue Reading

Audacy New York awards scholarships to TCNJ students

Incoming first-year students Leah Gross and Lia Sclafani have each received a $2,500 scholarship from Audacy New York and its Mets Radio Network. The pair attended the Mets vs. Miami Marlins game at Citi Field on Friday, August 16 to meet TCNJ alumnus and team broadcaster Pat McCarthy ’18. Gross, a secondary education major at… Continue Reading

Three TCNJ seniors earn recognition from the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program

The National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program is one of the most competitive sources of support for students in STEM fields, with the vast majority of recipients being first- and second-year graduate students. This year, three TCNJ seniors earned recognition on the sought-after list of honorees. Biomedical engineering major Allen Hong and sociology major… Continue Reading

Winnifred Brown-Glaude named to Diverse’s list of outstanding women in higher education

The publication Diverse: Issues In Higher Education recently honored Winnifred Brown-Glaude, professor of African American studies and sociology, on its 40 Outstanding Women in Higher Education list. Diverse recognizes trailblazing women who are paving the way for other female leaders. The publication’s editorial team selected each of this year’s honorees for demonstrating perseverance and tenacity, and broadly impacting the… Continue Reading

Department of State names TCNJ a top producer of Fulbrights

The U.S. Department of State has recognized The College of New Jersey as one of only three “Top Fulbright-Producing Institutions” in New Jersey — alongside Princeton and Rutgers–New Brunswick — for the 2023–24 academic year. Only 170 institutions of higher learning in the United States received this distinction. The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s… Continue Reading

TCNJ history prof wins top honors from the American Historical Association

Michael Marino, professor of history, recently received top honors from the American Historical Association, winning the William and Edwyna Gilbert Award for the best article in a journal, magazine, or other serial on teaching history. The awards were announced at the AHA’s 137th annual meeting, which took place in San Francisco from January 4–7, 2024. His… Continue Reading

Contact

School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Social Sciences Building, Room 302
The College of New Jersey
P.O. Box 7718
2000 Pennington Rd.
Ewing, NJ 08628

609.771.3434
hss@tcnj.edu

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