Felician University Awards Honorary Degree to SB&JC Superintendent!

Dr. Michael Kuchar Superintendent of the South Bergen Jointure Education Commission (SBJC) received an honorary degree by Felician University’s School of Business and Information Sciences at the second of three commencement ceremonies on Saturday, June 26 at the Breslin Performing Arts Center on Felician’s Lodi campus.

The SBJC is a public school district in Bergen County that provides special education classes for children of varying classifications including autism, multiply disabled, and behavioral disorders from pre-k to 21 years of age.

In introducing Dr. Kuchar, Monsignor Robert Sheeran, past President of Seton Hall University, called him a champion of children and one of the outstanding educational leaders in the state of New Jersey who sees, “the potential in other people that others may not see, and he desires to develop that. He really believes he can make a difference in the lives of others and communities where he serves in leadership positions.”

In his commencement address for the School of Business and Information Science and the School of Education, Dr. Kuchar told graduates their diplomas were well earned, “as we had to learn lessons for which there was no curriculum, we had to learn in virtual platforms, that had not been established, and understand a new vocabulary that included words like, pandemic, contact tracing, zoom, and social distancing.”

Dr. Kuchar said Felician’s graduating class of 2021 has faced obstacle caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and learned lessons about personal responsibility, adaptability, fear, resilience, and hope and, “have been challenged to see a deeper understanding of our purpose in the universe.”

Felician University President James W. Crawford, III conferred the Doctorate of Humane Letters on Dr. Kuchar and addressed the rest of the 2021 graduates in saying, “After all that has transpired and that continues to threaten us, to be together in community on this day, to share this truly joyous occasion face to face and not virtually, is truly a blessing of great worth.”  President Crawford praised the grads for their perseverance and resilience saying, “it’s not easy to earn the cap and gown in the best of times and you did it in the most arduous of times. Tuck that fact away when you encounter an obstacle you think is beyond you and remember, this too, I can overcome.”

To view diploma photos with President Crawford and photos of all three ceremonies click here.