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President Acebo and JCPOBA President Cossolini Sign Groundbreaking MOU

JERSEY CITY, N.J. | As the community celebrates National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day this week,  (NJCU) continues to demonstrate its long-standing commitment to the criminal justice field with the signing of another groundbreaking collaborative Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

On January 8, 2024, NJCU Interim President Andrés Acebo and Joe Cossolini ‘21, an NJCU alumnus and President of the Jersey City Police Officers Benevolent Association (JCPOBA) gathered on campus to sign an MOU which allows Jersey City law enforcement officers to easily pursue higher education opportunities at NJCU.

NJCU becomes the first higher educational institution to enter into a formal collaboration agreement to partner with Jersey City’s police union. The agreement will build upon the existing Jersey City Police Officers Benevolent Association tuition reimbursement program.

  (📸credit: Paul Gargiulo/NJCU University Communications)

The latest collaborative initiative from NJCU allows recommended officers who wish to pursue a degree at NJCU with a streamlined application process and convenient, flexible class scheduling conducive with their shifts, where possible, as well as necessary guidance and support, as part of the creative agreement. NJCU will offer these officers credit and non-credit programs, workshops, and courses. 

Jersey City Mayor Steven M. Fulop praised the collaboration, saying: “Education is the great connector between people, and the more we know about each other the less we fear the unknown. This program supports our goal of promoting community policing by placing officers into classrooms with local students who come from the neighborhoods they patrol. It’s a great example of removing barriers between the police and the community, and I thank both NJCU and the JCPOBA for having the vision to pursue this kind of forward thinking policy.”

“Law enforcement is able to best serve our local communities when they themselves are a part of those communities,” said President Andrés Acebo. “By making it easier for the men and women who have sworn to protect and defend our community to attend classes and learn side-by-side with our student body, which is overwhelmingly made up of the same richly diverse residents that they are charged with serving and protecting, we can encourage greater camaraderie between police officers and residents. An education from NJCU will benefit our officers as they seek an upward trajectory in their law enforcement careers and continue to elevate their families and communities. NJCU is well positioned to be that vehicle to support their career mobility and community engagement. Let it be said that we endeavor to do bold mission-driven things in our community, with our community, and always for our community.”

Acebo added: “Equitable access to higher education is critical to bringing people together, and I look forward to seeing our Jersey City officers on our campus as NJCU students; learning with and from the community they belong to and that they serve. This new initiative is one of many ways that our institution’s mission can play its part as a community anchor to prioritize economic mobility and opportunities for all Hudson County residents and those whose life’s work is to be of service to them.”

JCPOBA President Cossolini ‘21 said: “I want to thank NJCU President Andrés Acebo and Police Director Tawana Moody for their support and guidance in the POBA’s efforts to reduce the financial burden of higher education for Jersey City police officers. Like many of our police officers who grew up in Jersey City, NJCU is an integral part of the fabric of the community. This union between the POBA and our City’s university sets the stage for a bright future that includes more highly educated police officers and a more enriching college experience for NJCU students who may never have had a positive experience with a police officer.”

“Our police officers understand and appreciate the value of higher education in every profession, including policing. We are all lucky to have forward-thinking officials like President Acebo and Police Director Moody who are committed to raising the educational ceiling of our police department and the community at large.”

Through the implementation of the partnership, NJCU and JCPOBA will work to facilitate the enrollment of any current Jersey City police officers who are members of the POBA who wish to pursue higher education. JCPOBA will encourage its members to participate in the program and promote the benefits of continuing education in their professional development.

JCPD Detective Lydiana Diaz, who attended and spoke at the signing, said “I have been a police officer for over 10 years in the community where I was born, live, and where I raise a wonderful two-year-old daughter. It’s important for me to have a positive and grounding structure and the tuition reimbursement assistance program provided by the Jersey City Police Officers Benevolent Association in conjunction with �鶹��ý, is a great opportunity to do just that. I am thrilled and delighted to be a part of this program which will prepare me for future opportunities in law, civil service, and in government strategies — all of which will make me a better police officer. I am thankful to be given this opportunity and look forward to all of the future endeavors it brings.”

The NJCU-POBA partnership builds on the existing Tuition Reimbursement Program offered to Jersey City police officers and other public employees by the City of Jersey City, which provides up to $5,000 per year to cover the cost of higher education. The program will help city employees obtain new skills and advance their careers, all while enhancing the level of services they are able to provide to Jersey City residents. 

JCPD Officer Terrell Darby noted: “As a Jersey City Police Officer and educator, I am honored to be a part of the Jersey City Police Officers Benevolent Association tuition reimbursement program. This opportunity will provide me with an opportunity to enhance my career and provide me with new skills to add to my duty belt. As police officers, we need to be able to help our community in a more effective way that takes their mental health into consideration. I believe that �鶹��ý will assist to expand my knowledge on how I can be a better communicator with the members of our community. The JCPOBA has found an effective and affordable solution to help us become better educated and more productive members of our department. I would like to thank NJCU and JCPOBA for coming together to make continued education a real possibility for all of us.”

The partnership between NJCU and JCPOBA is a pathway towards deepening the bonds between law enforcement and the communities it serves, and consequently enriching the perspectives of those who are trusted with the responsibility to protect and serve. The initiative will also provide a pipeline of new student enrollment for NJCU, furthering its ongoing revitalization and mission-driven focus.
 

Ronald J. Hurley '00 '09, D.Sc. '15, CPP, NJCU’s Associate Vice President in the Department of Public Safety, is a retired JCPD detective who helped connect the university and the union. He holds three degrees from NJCU and noted: “This partnership will elevate our police in the community through the power of education and relationship building with those our law enforcement members serve. I benefited greatly from the tuition reimbursement program when I was an officer, funding my undergraduate education and much of my graduate degree. I’m thankful the pipeline between two institutions I care deeply about — NJCU and the JCPD — is now stronger than ever.”

The MOU between NJCU and the JCPOBA is the latest in a series of community-strengthening agreements President Acebo has orchestrated in less than a year at the helm of the university. In January 2023, NJCU announced details of a historic Project Labor Agreement (PLA) and a memorandum of understanding with the Hudson County Building Trades. In April 2023, NJCU and AFT Local 1839 — the institution’s local affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers, representing faculty, professional staff, librarians, adjunct faculty announced a historic MOU that sets the vision for shared governance and good faith labor relations at the university, underscoring a commitment to collective responsibility for student success.

In June, NJCU announced a partnership agreement with the Latino Action Network and the Latino Action Network Foundation which will focus on the development of community education, civic engagement, and research initiatives on educational equity and health care access policies. In November, President Acebo and NJCU’s Guarini Institute for International Education and Economic Mobility signed a first-of-its-kind MOU with GLACO — Grupo Latinoamericano de Cónsules en �鶹��ý — becoming the first higher educational institution in �鶹��ý to enter into a formal collaboration agreement to partner with GLACO — an alliance made up of 17 Latin American consulates.

And just last month in December, President Acebo joined Hudson County Community College (HCCC) President Dr. Christopher Reber at a signing ceremony to formerly launch HCCC|NJCU CONNECT —  a transformational program announced last June that will provide highly visible, inclusive, and barrier-free transfer pathways to guide students and their families from high school, through studies at HCCC, and on to graduation from NJCU. That same week, NJCU was honored as ranking No. 1 in the State of �鶹��ý and 10th in the United States in CollegeNET’s 2023 Social Mobility Index (SMI) —a dramatic improvement from 105th place in 2021 and 44th place in 2022.  

JCPD Officer Jennifer Santos summarized the NJCU/JCPOBA collaboration by saying: “For years, I had to put my dreams of completing school on the back burner. As a young mother and caretaker, I was ecstatic when I found out that JCPOBA was partnering with NJCU to encourage and assist police officers to return to school and further their law enforcement careers. Not only is the JCPOBA assisting police officers to further their education but this program will also help the community by having more highly educated officers focusing on mental health crises. I’m extremely grateful for this opportunity!”

�鶹��ý NJCU: 
�鶹��ý is a comprehensive public regional institution of higher learning located in Jersey City, N.J., dedicated to the development of our students, our city, our communities, and our state. We are a game-changing force for our students and have been recognized as one of the top colleges in the nation improving their upward economic mobility. In fact, NJCU has been ranked No. 1 in �鶹��ý and Top 10 in the nation in the CollegeNET Social Mobility Index for 2023. Whether enrolled in one of our undergraduate, graduate, or doctoral programs at our three locations, NJCU students have access to an affordable, diverse environment, and an exceptionally supportive faculty. This prepares them to go on to become the next generation of workers and leaders who improve their communities and the State of �鶹��ý.

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Contact: 
Ira Thor, Associate Vice President for University Communications | ithor@njcu.edu | 201-200-3301