Monmouth University President Patrick F. Leahy and Polling Institute Director Patrick Murray have been named to the 2024 NJBIZ Power 50 in Education List. This is Leahy’s fifth inclusion on the roster, and Murray’s sixth feature.
NJBIZ highlights New Jersey’s most influential figures in education who are leading colleges and universities, creating meaningful change, impacting their communities, and engaging others to succeed. This year’s Education Power 50 list includes those in education who not only provide traditional lessons through time-tested methods, but also, through their work.
The business journal praises Leahy for his integration of the University’s five-year strategic plan to become a leader of integrating academic excellence and student access, writing, “During his tenure, Monmouth University has enrolled the most diverse and academically prepared classes in its history, setting new year-over-year benchmarks in almost all enrollment measures. At the same time, more than 50% of the first-year class are first-generation and/or low-income students.”
NJBIZ also credits Leahy with Monmouth’s highest-ever U.S. News & World Report ranking of No. 17 in the Regional Universities North category, a jump of 11 places in three years. Leahy was also recognized for his comprehensive strategic partnership with Hackensack Meridian Health; launching a major capital campaign that aims to raise over $150 million; and the plans to build a $47 million, 30,000 square-foot building—the new home of the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music. Leahy’s effort to engage Monmouth in national conversations on racial justice was also noted by NJBIZ, as he was named a leader in higher education by the National Diversity Council at the 17th Annual National Diversity & Leadership Conference.
Murray was recognized by NJBIZ for his work with the Monmouth University Polling Institute, helping the polling center earn high marks, and maintaining a top rank, for the accuracy of its polls and its level of transparency—becoming the fifth-best in the U.S., according to aggregator FiveThirtyEight. The institute’s partnerships are also highlighted, including its coverage of the 2024 presidential primaries with The Washington Post, and its work on local topics with potential wide-ranging effects, like the upcoming Word Cup 2026 event to be hosted by the state.
Learn more information about NJBIZ and read the rest of the NJBIZ Power 50 list.