Rock & Raise

The Great Hall and Pollak Theatre played host to a sell-out crowd on April 24 when the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music presented the second annual American Music Honors awards.

Each of the 2024 honorees—John Mellencamp, Jackson Browne, Mavis Staples and Dion DiMucci—took center stage for performances backed by Marc Ribler and the Disciples of Soul. The ceremony was hosted by former “NBC Nightly News” anchor Brian Williams and featured remarks from Gov. Phil Murphy as well as the award presenters: Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt, Darlene Love, and Jon Landau. The evening concluded with the audience on their feet while honorees and presenters shared the stage and jammed to such hits as “Small Town,” “Glory Days,” “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” “Take it Easy,” and “Will the Circle be Unbroken?”. 

Together with a silent auction, the event raised more than $1 million to support construction of a new building, announced last fall, that will house the Archives, the Center for American Music, related exhibition galleries, and a state-of-the-art theater.

American Music Honors photos courtesy of Danny Clinch. TOP: Bruce Springsteen, Mavis Staples, Darlene Love, Dion DiMucci, John Mellencamp, and Jackson Browne (l-r) performing on the Pollak Theatre stage during the show; ABOVE: Springsteen and Steven Van Zandt performing, accompanied by the Disciples of Soul. 

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All In, All Win

Giving Days 2024 was another record-breaking success, raising over $398,000 in just 48 hours. The more than 2,100 gifts received from Hawks around the world will have an immediate impact on student scholarships, academic programs, and athletics. 

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A Familiar Face in the Provost’s Office

Richard F. Veit was named provost and senior vice president for academic affairs in April, a role he has held on an interim basis since July 2023. Veit was unanimously selected by a committee of faculty, administrators, and students from a pool of nearly 50 applicants nationwide. 

During his 29-year career at Monmouth, Veit has developed extensive leadership experience, serving as an undergraduate program director, graduate program director, faculty athletic representative, Faculty Council chair, Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning director, department chair, and associate dean and interim dean of the Wayne D. McMurray School of Humanities and Social Sciences. He also recently served as co-chair of the Middle States Steering Committee. 

As a professor in the Department of History and Anthropology, Veit received the Distinguished Teaching Award in 2007 and was the inaugural recipient of the Eugene Simko Faculty Leadership Award in 2019. 

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Ahead of the Curve

Less than three years since its founding, and before its first cohort of students had graduated in May, Monmouth’s Occupational Therapy Doctorate program earned a national ranking on U.S. News & World Report’s roster of “Best Occupational Therapy Programs.”

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Planting Prowess

Thanks to the efforts of social work students Arely Lazaro ’24 and rising seniors Erin McDowell and Camryn Levy, Monmouth’s Virginia A. Cory Community Garden earned distinction as a Homegrown National Park for its commitment to biodiversity and ecosystem health. Working with Garden Coordinator Teresa Maltz, the students introduced several species of native plants into the garden this spring, including black-eyed Susan, coneflower, goldenrod, aster, and cardinal flower.

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Innovation Overload

Two teams split the top prize at this year’s HawkTank Business Pitch Competition: Parkshark, an app developed by senior Gianna Piroso and juniors Davian Albarran and Andrew McGovern that tackles commuter chaos by providing users with real-time parking availability updates and reminders; and Link, a tool created by junior Alexander Kalina that plays matchmaker for patients and clinical trials by helping users sort through the government’s registry of clinical trials to find the most compatible options.

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Summer Reads

Three recent books by faculty members that will make your beach days even brighter.

“Livin’ Just to Find Emotion: Journey and The Story of American Rock”

Fort Monmouth: The US Army’s House of Magic

Living the Beatles Legend: The Untold Story of Mal Evans