The board of trustees of Centenary University in Hackettstown, New Jersey has unanimously approved the appointment of Dale G. Caldwell as the university’s 15th president. When he takes office on July 1, Dr. Caldwell will be the first African American president of the university, since its founding in 1867.
“I am grateful for the board’s confidence in my ability to lead Centenary at this pivotal time in the university’s history,” Dr. Caldwell said. Citing the university’s strong commitment to the success of its students, he continued, “I look forward to strengthening partnerships between the university and business leaders to grow Centenary’s reputation for scholarship, entrepreneurship, and service.”
Centenary University enrolls just over 1,100 undergraduate students and more than 400 graduate students according to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Education. African Americans make up 9 percent of the undergraduate student body.
Dr. Caldwell is currently executive director of the Rothman Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, New Jersey, as well as president of the board of the Educational Services Commission of New Jersey. A resident of New Brunswick, New Jersey, Dr. Caldwell is president of the city’s Board of Education, serving as both an appointed and elected member of the board since 1998.
Dr. Caldwell is a graduate of Princeton University, where he majored in economics. He holds an MBA in finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a doctorate in education administration from Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey.
