(PDF) (DOC) (JPG)May 17, 2006

(Mahwah) – Fred M. Jacobs, M.D., J.D., commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, will deliver the commencement address at Ramapo College of New Jersey’s 2006 ceremony Thursday, May 25 beginning at 10 a.m. at the Bandshell.  Laura J. Wellington, Ramapo class of 1987, will receive the President’s Award of Merit.  A total of 1,316 students who completed their studies in January and May, or are expected to finish in August, are eligible to participate.

In January 2006, Governor Jon S. Corzine reappointed Jacobs as commissioner. He had served as commissioner under Governor Richard J. Codey since December 2004. Jacobs received his bachelor’s degree from Colgate University and his M.D. degree from the University of Miami School of Medicine, where he was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society.  He trained in internal medicine at Maimonides Medical Center and Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City and completed a pulmonary research fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center and a chief residency in pulmonary disease at Kings County Hospital Center in New York City.  He is board certified in both internal medicine and pulmonary disease. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, the American College of Chest Physicians and the American College of Legal Medicine.

In 1969, he joined the staff at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in New Jersey where he has been chief of pulmonary disease, medical director of the Intensive Care Unit and was elected president of the medical staff in 1987.  Subsequently, he became senior vice president for Medical Affairs at Saint Barnabas, and later, executive vice president for Medical Affairs for the Saint Barnabas Health Care System.

Jacobs also has held many faculty positions, including clinical associate professor of medicine at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Jersey Medical School.  In 1990, Jacobs graduated from Rutgers University School of Law in Newark, New Jersey and was admitted to the bar of New Jersey and Florida.

The College’s President’s Award of Merit will be awarded to Laura J. Wellington, a 1987 graduate of Ramapo College.  Wellington founded The Silly Goose Company LLC in May of 2001 in direct response to the demand for her proprietary intellectual property known as The Wumblers preschool television series.  In conjunction with this newest venture, Wellington is the cofounder and active president of Wellington Consulting Company and Wellington Financial Systems (New York City), where she has developed and supported IT trading systems for the past 15 years.

Wellington is a recipient of the 2004 Business Woman of the Year Award for the State of New Jersey along with the 2004 Ronald Reagan Gold Medal Award for her entrepreneurial vision and business achievements.

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About Ramapo College

Ramapo College of New Jersey is the state’s premier public liberal arts college and is committed to academic excellence through interdisciplinary and experiential learning, and international and intercultural understanding. The comprehensive college is situated among the beautiful Ramapo Mountains, is within commuting distance to New York City, was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful College Campuses in America by CondeNast Traveler, and boasts the best on-campus housing in New Jersey per Niche.com. Established in 1969, Ramapo College offers bachelor’s degrees in the arts, business, data science, humanities, social sciences and the sciences, as well as in professional studies, which include business, education, nursing and social work. In addition, the College offers courses leading to teacher certification at the elementary and secondary levels, and offers graduate programs leading to master’s degrees in Accounting, Applied Mathematics, Business Administration, Contemporary Instructional Design, Computer Science, Creative Music Technology, Data Science, Educational Leadership, Nursing, Social Work and Special Education, as well as a Doctor of Nursing Practice.

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