Dear Members of the Campus Community:
I am writing today with information regarding our Board of Trustees for the upcoming fiscal year, beginning on July 1. At its spring meeting last week, the Board of Trustees completed its months-long process of electing its officers and recruiting new board members for the coming year.
It gives me great pride to announce that Jeana M. Piscatelli ’01 ’02M will serve as the chair of the Board, the first woman in our 87-year history to hold this important position. John A. Brockriede Jr. ’07 ’10M and Leslie N. Hitchner will serve as vice chairs, Christopher D. Maher as treasurer, and John C. Conover III as secretary. I want to take this opportunity to thank both our outgoing chair, Michael A. Plodwick ’82, and our outgoing secretary, Carol A. Stillwell, for their passionate service to Monmouth.
In addition to the election of new leadership, the Board of Trustees approved the following individuals to join the Board.
- Miles J. Austin III ’18
- Tasha A. Youngblood Brown ’97 ’03M
- Jeremy Grunin
- James S. Vaccaro III
Miles J. Austin III is involved with the Austin Family Foundation, a non-profit organization whose mission is to support and promote youth programming focused on character development and community involvement in lower income areas. He is the former offensive quality control coach for the San Francisco 49ers and former wide receiver who played professional football for 10 seasons. He earned his degree in political science at Monmouth University and was a standout wide receiver for the football team from 2002-2005. Austin’s jersey was retired in 2014 and he was inducted into the Monmouth University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016.
Tasha A. Youngblood Brown is a higher education leader in the U.S. Government and Public Sector practice of Ernst & Young. In this role, she helps local government, higher education institutions, and K-12 school districts transform their environments and optimize operations to achieve better outcomes across their communities. At Monmouth, Youngblood Brown received her bachelor’s degree in political science and her master’s degree in business.
Jeremy Grunin has been actively engaged throughout the community as president of the Grunin Foundation, a proactive grant maker focused on economic growth at the central Jersey Shore. He is a partner of Grunin Holdings, LLC., a New Jersey partnership specializing in the development and management of commercial real estate, as well as investing in third party commercial ventures.
James S. Vaccaro III is chairman, president and chief executive officer of Manasquan Bank, which operates from locations in Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean counties. Vaccaro is a leader in both civic and philanthropic organizations. He was the recipient of the Monmouth University Distinguished Business Leader Award in 2013 and has been widely recognized for his professional achievements and stellar record of community service.
With these additions I am confident that Monmouth University is very well positioned for the future.
Sincerely,
Dr. Patrick F. Leahy
President