am pleased to share the 2024 President’s Report, a reflection of Monmouth University’s continued pursuit of academic excellence, student success, and meaningful impact.

This past year marked extraordinary progress for Monmouth. We launched the public phase of Excellence. Access. Ambition., a bold fundraising campaign poised to elevate student support to unprecedented levels. We also secured national recognition as a research college and university in the new Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education—affirming our growing research enterprise and Monmouth’s increasing competitiveness on the national stage.

Our faculty advanced scholarship across disciplines, earning prestigious grants and engaging students in original research that supports both learning and innovation. We celebrated notable academic and creative achievements, including patents in development through the Center for Entrepreneurship, the success of the Parton Broadcasting Center, and the expansion of the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music, whose new home is rising rapidly right here on campus.

recently published study in Inorganica Chimica Acta highlights the work of Associate Professor of Chemistry Greg Moehring, Chemistry Professor Datta Naik, and Specialist Professor of Biology Jeffrey Weisburg, whose interdisciplinary research into rhenium-based molecules has shown promise in selectively targeting cancer cells. This long-running collaboration between the chemistry and biology departments not only explores potential advancements in cancer treatment but also provides undergraduate students with hands-on research experience.

The project began in 2017 when Naik identified a study on a unique rhenium molecule with potential anticancer properties. Intrigued, he and Moehring worked with students to synthesize and modify similar compounds, aiming to enhance their stability and effectiveness. The research gained momentum when Weisburg joined the team, testing these molecules on both oral cancer cells and normal cells to determine their ability to selectively kill cancer cells while sparing healthy ones. Their findings showed that two of the newly developed molecules maintained their stability long enough to be effective, mimicking the mechanisms of existing platinum-based cancer drugs.

he University annually reviews the Council of Independent Colleges’ Financial Indicators Tool (FIT) to assess the University’s financial health over time as well as compared to similar institutions. The FIT score presents a complete picture of an institution’s financial strengths and weaknesses and is a useful strategic indicator for institutions at various levels of financial health. The University’s FIT score is a measure of its overall financial strength based on the sufficiency and flexibility of resources, the management of debt, the performance of assets, and the results of operations. The FIT score falls along a scale of -4.0 to 10.0, and a score of 3.0 is the threshold of institutional financial health. For the past five years, the University continues to exceed the 3.0 threshold with an average score of 6.1.