Monmouth University was saddened by the loss of Trustee Emeritus Jules L. Plangere Jr. HN ’86, former chair of the Board of Trustees, who died peacefully on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016. He was 95.

As board chair, Plangere championed the adoption of the university’s first strategic plan, which focused on achieving regional distinction by enhancing academic quality and establishing closer community partnerships.

His steadfast belief and support for the promise and possibility of all Monmouth University could achieve endures in endowed student scholarships; the endowed Jules L. Plangere, Jr. Chair in American Social History; support for young journalists at the student-run newspaper, The Outlook; lighting for the soccer facilities at Hesse Field on the Great Lawn; and the first leadership gift to the Monmouth Stadium currently under construction.

At the dedication for the award-winning Jules L. Plangere, Jr. Center for Communication and Instructional Technology named in his honor in 2002, President Emerita Rebecca Stafford said, “His commitment to our mission has helped to transform us into a university of distinction.”

Plangere’s lifelong support for civic causes and volunteer service had a major impact on both Monmouth University and the region.

His foundational investment in the Monmouth University Polling Institute to foster greater public understanding of social and political issues, and his marquee gift to build the OceanFirst Bank Center, which bears his initials on center court, have been essential building blocks in the increased national prominence of Monmouth University.

Plangere’s lifelong support for civic causes and volunteer service had a major impact on both Monmouth University and the region. His many awards and recognitions—including the President’s Vision Award, renamed the Jules L. Plangere Jr. Medal in his honor in 2015; the Monmouth Award for Communication Excellence; and an honorary Doctor of Laws degree—and charitable endeavors are still too few to mark the lasting influence of a beloved and humble humanitarian who sowed seeds of possibility far and wide.

TOP: Plangere pictured in 1988. Photo courtesy of Monmouth University Archives