PARSIPPANY — Parsippany Hills High School graduate and Parsippany resident, Roger Kfoury is currently attending Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA.

Roger is a Junior majoring in Marketing and Legal Studies and participates in Drexel’s co-operative education program, working full-time for six months in a professional position in his field of study.

To gain further knowledge and experience outside the classroom, Roger applied for, and was accepted into a consulting course with real-world application. Experiential learning is in the DNA of Drexel University and LeBow has taught programs such as this course for over 20 years.

Roger is a member of a student-created and operated consulting firm of fourteen students, called META Consulting, working as a coordinator. As a member of META, Roger is consulting for the Department of Justice on the Peer 2 Peer: Building Community Trust Initiative. The firm will be working with teens between the ages of 13 to 19 to dispel mistrust between the community and law enforcement. They will be obtaining primary research in order to support new programming for this group of teens. META will be launching the RETIRE It Movement, which is an acronym for Real Education to Inspire the Right Engagement. META will be advised by former Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, Brian Michael from the Department of Homeland Security, and Detective Eric Rios from the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office. META will also be partnering with Covenant House and West Catholic High School as community partners. You can support Roger by following their efforts on Facebook “RETIRE It Movement”, on Twitter @RETIRE_IT, and on Instagram @RETIRE_IT.

PARSIPPANY — Dr. Haney will relinquish his position as Vice President for Academic Affairs at Emory & Henry College, a liberal arts college in Southwest Virginia.  He arrived there four years ago after nine years atAppalachian State University where he was English Department Chair and then Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education.  This followed 12 years as a faculty member at Auburn University.  He spent a year in Spearfish, South Dakota, as Provost at Black Hills State University and Regents Fellow with the South Dakota Board of Regents.  He began his administrative career as Dean of Students at the Cambridge School of Weston, an independent secondary boarding and day school in Weston, Massachusetts.

At Emory & Henry College he has led the development of a strategic initiative for project-based liberal education, supported by a $100,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.  Much of his effort as Chief Academic Officer has been dedicated to the expansion of the college through graduate programs in health education, including the development of a school of health sciences on the campus of a former hospital, whose first program, a doctorate in physical therapy, began in fall 2015.  He raised $600,000 to hire a founding Dean and helped secure a $5 million commitment for support of health sciences programs.  He has played a leadership role in the acquisition of an equestrian program, the development of an environmental field station, the establishment of a partnership with the Rensselaerville Institute, the expansion of community engagement initiatives, the growth of the honors program and the expansion of international education.  He has also led an academic program prioritization process and several strategic planning initiatives and he has worked on regional and professional accreditation issues.

He holds an MA and PhD in English from the University at Buffalo and a BA in English from Macalester College, where he was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.  His scholarship has focused on British Romantic poetry and the philosophical connection between interpretation and ethics, with two monographs on Penn State Press’s Literature and Philosophy series, as well as articles on British Romanticism, literature and philosophy and higher education.  Dr. Haney played bluegrass music professionally in the 1980s withJoe Val and the New England Bluegrass Boys, and he and his spouse, Lisa Baldwin, occasionally perform together.

“Dr. Haney has the stellar reputation of being an excellent administrator and an effective, collaborative leader,” says Wolfgang Gstattenbauer ’84/13HA, Chair of the Board of Trustees and Presidential Search Committee Chair.  “He has a strong reputation for openness, collegial decision-making and integrity. He also brings a wealth of knowledge of institutional fundraising and an understanding of the equine business. We are pleased to have Dr. Haney serving at the helm of this institution as we fulfill our future goals over the next decade.”

A Presidential Search Committee was established by Gstattenbauer ’84/13 HA after Dr. Barbara-Jayne Lewthwaite announced inJune 2015 that she was stepping down after being named President in 2009.  The Board of Trustees retained the services ofThomas B. Courtice and Dr. Jim Davis of AGB Search, Washington, DC, to assist with the search. Dr. Courtice’s ten years and Dr. Davis’s seven years of successful search experience, with particular emphasis on the leadership needs of private liberal arts colleges, helped guide the Committee through the process. Dr. Haney was selected from 70 applicants because of his strong background in higher education.

“I am extremely honored to be chosen as the 13^th president of Centenary College,” says Dr. Haney.  “I admire the work that the College has done to remain a thriving, forward-looking institution that prepares students for the challenges of working, living, and contributing to society in the challenging world of the 21^st century, and I am excited about continuing that work in partnership with students, staff, faculty, and trustees.  Everyone from Centenary and Hackettstown has been very welcoming during the entire search process, and my wife Lisa and I are eager to become active members of our new community.”

Founded in 1867 by the Newark Conference of the United Methodist Church, Centenary College’s academic program integrates a solid liberal arts foundation with a strong career orientation. This mix is designed to provide an educational experience that prepares students to succeed in the increasingly global and interdependent world.

Centenary College’s main campus is located in Hackettstown with its equestrian facility in Washington Township (Morris County).  The Centenary College School of Professional Studies offers degree programs in two locations: Parsippany and Edison, and at corporate sites throughout New Jersey. 

PARSIPPANY — An impasse in contract negotiations between the school board and the teachers’ union has led to job actions by union members including their refusal to volunteer for field trips that extend past the school day and to serve as club advisers. The union disputes that it has prompted any change by its members, but…

PARSIPPANY — The Board of Education released the following information regarding the negotiations with the Parsippany-Troy Hills Education Association:

The Board of Education (Board) values our teachers and wants to negotiate a fair and equitable contract with them; a contract that addresses the demands of the Parsippany-Troy Hills Education Association (PTHEA), meets the needs of our students, and that our community can afford today and years down the road. The Board would like to provide our community with a more complete understanding of the key current issues which the Board believes are limiting its ability to reach a fair and equitable contract settlement:

1. Reductions in the amount PTHEA members contribute to offset District health insurance costs. PTHEA is demanding a significant reduction in the State-mandated amount they contribute to help cover the cost of health insurance. Currently, teachers are provided with Health, Dental, and Prescription Insurance which costs the District $14,598,626.00 per year. The District projects another 9% increase in this premium number for next year. The cost for a teacher’s family coverage currently ranges from $30,280.32 to $31,813.92 per year. While the amount of a teacher’s contribution varies by salary, an average teacher contributes $5,300 to this premium.

2. Salary Increases – PTHEA has rejected the Board’s proposed salary increases that are very close to the average salary increases for Morris County school districts.

3. Job Actions – Despite the fact that for the past five months our teachers have continued by law to receive all the protections of their previous contract, including full health insurance benefits, the PTHEA has initiated job actions that directly impact our students.

4. Property Tax Cap – The State mandated limit of 2% on any property tax increase makes it challenging for the District to maintain current class sizes and instructional and co-curricular programs, let alone attempting to even partially meet the demands of the PTHEA.

We are – and always have been – ready and willing to return to the negotiations table to negotiate a fair and equitable contract. To demonstrate our good faith and to restart the negotiations process, the Board recently hired a new attorney/negotiator to work with both parties to bring current negotiations to a successful conclusion.

Despite PTHEA’s decision to declare an impasse after only a few meetings and implement job actions, the Board met with the PTHEA negotiations team on January 20, 2016 and had a very cordial session where the Board listened intently to the PTHEA’s concerns. Again, in an effort to settle the contract, the Board met with the State mediator on January 26, 2016 and negotiated with the PTHEA until 2:00 AM. Although significant differences remain in the parties’ positions, the Board and the PTHEA both agreed that they would attempt to start brainstorming solutions to address both the PTHEA’s concerns and the Board’s issues that have been on the table since the beginning of negotiations.

Despite the proactive steps the Board has taken to advance negotiations, PTHEA recently decided to prevent its members from volunteering for field trips that extend beyond the school day, participating in student events like “The PHHS Gong Show” and to voluntarily serve as advisors for student clubs. The Board is very disappointed in this most recent job action and understands how unsettling the PTHEA job actions can be for our students, their parents, and our schools. We project that the job action to prohibit teachers from voluntarily advising clubs alone will affect over 500 students. The Board has always taken a strong stand against involving students in labor issues. When one considers that the prior contract only ended on June 30, 2015, and that a major impediment to a contract settlement is the result of legislative action by the State of New Jersey requiring teachers to contribute to the cost of their health insurance, it is unfortunate that PTHEA has imposed these job actions on our students and community. Despite these job actions, the Board looks forward to continuing negotiations with PTHEA and working with the State assigned mediator to resolve the few remaining BOE issues and the unresolved PTHEA demands for salary and benefits. The Board does value our teachers and wants to negotiate a fair and equitable contract to support our high quality teachers. However, the Board must also be cognizant of its responsibility to ensure that a final contract is fiscally responsible and sustainable for our community.

PARSIPPANY — Hindus are urging Parsippany-Troy Hills Township School District (PTHSD) in New Jersey to include Diwali, the most popular Hindu holy day, as a schools holiday in their 2016-2017 calendar and beyond.

The 2015-2016 Calendar of PTHSD, whose “mission” includes “to develop a feeling of self-worth and confidence”, showed schools were closed for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, while district was closed for Good Friday.

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a recent statement, said that it was not fair with Hindu pupils and their families as they had to attend school on their most popular festival.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, indicated that this unfairness did not send a good signal to the impressionable minds of schoolchildren who would be the leaders of tomorrow. Holidays of all major religions should be honored and no one should be penalized for practicing their religion. Moreover, it was important to meet the religious and spiritual needs of these students, Zed added. 

Rajan Zed stressed that since it was important for Hindu families to celebrate Diwali day together at home with their children, we did not want our children to be deprived of any privileges at the school because of thus resulting absences on this day. Closing schools on Diwali would ensure that and it would be a step in the positive direction.

 Zed noted that awareness about other religions thus created by such holidays like Diwali would make the PTHSD pupils well-nurtured, well-balanced, and enlightened citizens of tomorrow.

PTHSD needed to develop some sensitivity to diversity in the changing demographics and grant holidays on Diwali and major festivals of other religions so the students did not have to miss school to celebrate their sacred days. PTHSD should awake and understand that we live in 2016 now, Rajan Zed stated.

 Zed further says that Hinduism is rich in festivals and religious festivals are very dear and sacred to Hindus. Diwali, the festival of lights, aims at dispelling the darkness and lighting up the lives and symbolizes the victory of good over evil. Besides Hindus, Sikhs and Jains and some Buddhists also celebrate Diwali. Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal. There are about three million Hindus in USA. 

PTHSD, which reportedly has substantial number of Hindu students, serves about 7250 students in 14 schools, besides an adult education center, in a middle and upper-middle income “ethnically, culturally and linguistically diverse” community.

Parsippany is 28 miles west of New York City. Dr. LeRoy Seitz is Interim Superintendent, while Frank Neglia is President of its Board of Education.