Stockton News - June 11, 2026
WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
Haiti Soccer Team Finds a World Cup Home at Stockton
Saudi Arabia. Trinidad and Tobago. Nigeria. The United States. Brazil.
Soccer teams from each of these countries have used Stockton’s world-class athletics facilities over the years to train for major international competitions — many with incredible success.
Saudi Arabia made a historic run to the Round of 16 at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Nigeria shocked the world by winning the gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics. Brazil’s CR Flamengo won its group in last summer’s FIFA Club World Cup.
Now, Haiti, a team that hasn’t played in its own country in about five years due to gang violence, will make Stockton its temporary home for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The team arrived on campus on June 9 and had its first practice at G. Larry James Stadium in front of about 500 local fans, friends and youth soccer players as part of a community day.
“Our job here as the Team Base Camp is simply to provide a home away from home and create an environment for Haiti to flourish in America while competing in the World Cup,” said Jeff Haines, Stockton’s Associate Director of Athletics and Recreation and the director of the Team Base Camp. “I want to congratulate Haiti on qualifying for its first World Cup in 52 years. We are proud to be a small part of this historic moment with all of you.”
📸 View more photos on Flickr.
In the News: The Press of Atlantic City, NBC Philadelphia, Fox 29, CBS News
Reminder: Due to the team's presence, the Sports Center will be closed through the end of the day on Sunday, June 28. This closure includes all offices, the Trustees Memorial Fitness Center, Athletic Training and the Sports Center Arena.
The Stockton community should also expect increased police and security activity in and around the secured perimeter of the Sports Center during this time, including the presence of New Jersey State Police, Homeland Security, Secret Service, Stockton Police and other local authorities.
Stockton Hosts Growing Intergenerational Conference
Stockton is not only an ideal space designed for 18- to 24-year-olds but for older adults as well.
“We can sort of shake up what’s expected on a college campus by creating, inviting and incorporating people of all ages because they want to learn, not because of the age that they are,” said Christine Ferri, the director of the Stockton Center on Successful Aging (SCOSA).
As part of that mission, SCOSA, along with Penn State University, hosted the second biennial Mid-Atlantic Intergenerational Conference at Stockton’s Atlantic City campus from June 3 to 5. The conference invited scholars from across the region to share ideas, research, successes and challenges in building intergenerational connections. Ferri said the event was very well attended with more than 100 invitees registered, more than double the first conference at Penn State.
“We have to change the systems and structure to encourage different generations to interact with each other in different places across society besides just within families and workplaces,” Ferri said. “This conference is an effort for those who study this to come and share their work.”
📸View more photos on Flickr.
FRAME-WORTHY
Fish Monitoring Study Gives Students Data to Explore
A school of killifish swam in a ribbon formation through the shallow water of the boat basin at the Stockton University Marine Field Station on Nacote Creek.
The afternoon sun cast their tiny shadows on the muddy bottom.
Iridescent shimmers flashed as dozens of killifish swam inside a fish trap resting in water just deep enough to cover the trap.
Dana Christensen, an adjunct professor in Stockton’s School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, is working with students to conduct a long-term fish monitoring survey on the creek to describe small-bodied fish assemblages local to the Field Station using a series of minnow traps.
“We want to identify where the fish are now and how that changes over time. We can look at the size of the fish, the number of species that we get, the potential age classes of the fish, look at different micro habitats and see which ones are preferred,” she explained.
Christensen, still dressed from teaching science at Jackson Township High School, and her team gathered fish measuring boards, buckets, dip nets and a measuring tape and made their way to the dock to begin checking traps.
WHAT'S TRENDING @ #STOCKTONU
Instagram: It’s almost been one month since Commencement! Check out these pics from the Class of 2026! 📸🩵🎓
Facebook: Congratulations to Tony Award Winner Caissie Levy and her husband, Associate Professor of Theater David Reiser! Levy won the Tony for Lead Actress in a Musical Sunday for her role as Mother in Ragtime. She is also known for her run as Elsa in Frozen on Broadway.
InstaFred: Twilight looks good on me. 🌛
FROM THE SIDELINES
Five Rowers Earn CRCA Scholar Athlete Honors
Five Stockton rowers qualified for CRCA Scholar-Athlete Awards from the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association. Seniors Sydney Rowand, an Exercise Science major, and Reese Weirick, an Environmental Science major, earned the academic honors for the second consecutive year.
Senior Megan Baldwin, a Performing Arts major, collected her second career CRCA Scholar-Athlete accolade (2024, 26).
Junior Maria Fazio, a Criminal Justice major, and sophomore Olivia Wagner, a Hospitality, Tourism and Event Management major, received the CRCA academic awards for the first time.
To qualify for a CRCA Scholar-Athlete Award, rowers must be a sophomore or higher with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.50 who raced in 75 percent or more of the team's spring competitions or raced in an NCAA boat at the conference championship.
All five Ospreys also qualified for the MARC All-Academic Team, which was announced in May. In addition, Wagner was an All-MARC Second Team selection for her performance in Stockton's varsity eight boat.
Wagner, Baldwin and Rowand were members of the Stockton varsity eight that earned a bronze medal at the Dad Vail Regatta, while Fazio and Weirick were part of the Osprey second varsity eight that captured silver with a runner-up finish at the MARC Championships.
Rowand, Wagner and Weirick rowed in the varsity eight at the Knecht Cup, when Stockton narrowly took the gold medal by winning the grand final by just 86 hundredths of a second.
STOCKTON SITES & CENTERS
SRI&ETTC Hosts Conference on School Crisis Intervention
The SRI&ETTC hosted a conference at the Parkway Building on June 3 featuring Dr. Scott Poland, a national expert on youth mental health and suicide prevention.
Poland is a professor in the College of Psychology and director of the Suicide and Violence Prevention Office at Nova Southeastern University.
Sponsored by New Jersey’s Traumatic Loss Coalitions for Youth, the event drew nearly 150 participants, including school district personnel and mental health professionals, who explored “Contemporary Issues in School Crisis Intervention.”
Pictured, from left, are Maureen Brogan, statewide coordinator of New Jersey’s Traumatic Loss Coalitions; Poland; Patty Weeks, director of the SRI&ETTC and Atlantic County traumatic loss coordinator; and Carleena Supp, assistant superintendent of Cape May County Special Services School District and coordinator of the Cape May County Traumatic Loss Coalition.
OSPREY NOTES
Faculty Members Complete ACUE Training
Stockton recently honored 29 faculty members who successfully completed the Association of College and University Educators Effective Teaching Practices Framework professional development series, an intensive, eight-month program designed to elevate teaching effectiveness and support student success.
Participants were celebrated during the ACUE Cohort Pinning Ceremony & Faculty Recognition Event, held May 20 in Stockton’s Lower Art Gallery. Faculty were recognized for their dedication to enhancing instructional practices and their commitment to evidence-based teaching strategies.
Throughout the training, faculty engaged in rigorous coursework focused on current best practices and teaching methods that foster engagement, improve learning outcomes and support student success. The cohort was guided throughout the program by Abigail Laird, instructional designer at Stockton’s Center for Teaching & Learning Design (CTLD), who provided mentorship, structure and ongoing support.
“As a teacher educator, my everyday work revolves around instructional techniques. I not only need to employ them in my teaching role, but also effectively teach and model best practices for my students to use in their own P-12 classrooms. Teaching pedagogy is quite unique,” said Stacey Culleny, assistant professor of Education. “I took the ACUE course to continue my quest for effective strategies and as an opportunity to reflect on my craft. I was not disappointed.
“Having earned master’s and doctoral degrees connected to instruction, I was impressed by ACUE’s quality videos, extensive resources and innovative approaches. The course was aligned to several topics within my own training and those I now teach within Stockton’s School of Education. This course was a solid investment of time and effort. I recommend it for educators of any content and at all levels of experience.”
The university continues to expand opportunities for faculty engagement in high-impact professional development programs through the CTLD, reinforcing its commitment to innovative teaching and student-centered learning. Those interested in applying for one of 33 seats in the ACUE Effective Online Teaching Practices certification may visit stockton.edu/ctld for more information.
One-Click Break: Osprey Edition
Need a tiny reset? Check in on the Friends of Forsythe Osprey Cam for a live look at nesting season and a growing osprey family.
Around here, we always have time for baby Ospreys. Especially adorable cuddle puddles of them.
UPCOMING EVENTS
💻 Professional Development Opportunities
🖼️ Art Exhibits hosted by the Noyes Museum of Art
June 13: 18th Annual G Larry James Legacy Bike Ride
June 16: Vera King Farris Documentary Screening
June 17: Juneteenth Event
June 18: Alumni Achievement Awards 2026
June 19: Juneteenth at Noyes Arts Garage of Stockton University
June 23: Faculty Forum - The Ethics of Creativity in the Age of Generative Media
July 7: Sharks: Myth and Reality
