Jersey City – Thomas D. Carver, Esq., Executive Director of the New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA), will serve as the speaker at the one hundred and seventeenth commencement exercises for Saint Peter’s College in Jersey City. The ceremony is on Sunday, May 18, beginning at 10:00 a.m. at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ. The College will award degrees to approximately 700 students at the undergraduate and graduate levels; Carver will be the recipient of a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, as will honorary degree recipient Robert J. Roggenstein.
Prior to his appointment as Executive Director for CRDA, Carver served as the Commissioner of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, where he managed a department of nearly 4,000 employees. He was charged with fostering economic growth, promoting job-creation, enhancing business and labor relationships, as well as creating a world-class workforce in New Jersey.
Additionally, Carver served as a managing partner of The Castle Group, LLC, a government affairs firm with expertise in transportation issues, and was the first President of the New Jersey Aviation Association. He is also the founder of The Carver Group, a multifaceted consulting firm with a strong background in equal opportunity employment and minority entrepreneurship.
A former President of the Casino Association of New Jersey, Carver made substantial changes to New Jersey’s gaming policy and forged new initiatives with minority and women’s businesses. At one time the Assistant General Manager of Newark Airport, Carver is a 22-year veteran of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey,
A Jubilarian who graduated from Saint Peter’s College in 1958, Carver has served on the College’s Board of Regents since 1986. He chaired the College’s Annual Business Symposium from 2002 to 2004, playing an instrumental role in the event’s success. In 2006, he was presented with a Distinguished Alumni Award from Saint Peter’s College.
A member of the New Jersey Bar, Carver graduated from New York Law School and attended the New York University Graduate School of Law. He resides with his wife Sheila in Allenwood, NJ. They have three children and five grandchildren.
Bob Roggenstein, Saint Peter’s alumnus and former Principal of McNair Academic High School in Jersey City, will be awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters at this year’s commencement exercises. Roggenstein’s leadership efforts resulted in McNair’s placement in New Jersey Monthly six times. Four of the placements included recognition by the magazine as “The Top New Jersey High School” in 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2006. Additionally, McNair was noted by New Jersey Monthly for “Succeeding Against the Odds” in 1993, and was ranked twenty-first in New Jersey out of the top 75 high schools in 1994.
Additionally, McNair was ranked 15th in the nation by Newsweek magazine in 2005. The high school’s excellence, as well as Roggenstein’s achievements were also noted in Redbook magazine. In 2006, he was named “Principal of the Year” by the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association.
Roggenstein received a B.S. degree from Saint Peter’s in 1965, and an M.A. in Administration and Supervision from New York University in 1973. He also received his Professional Diploma in Administration and Supervision from Fordham University. He resides with his wife in Barnegat, NJ where he currently works as an Associate Realtor for Crossroads Realty.
The Class of 2008 Valedictorian is Aleksandar Nikolov from Varna, Bulgaria. Nikolov will also receive two graduation awards: The 2008 Smith Medal, which is awarded to the Bachelor of Science graduate with the highest general average for the four-year Natural Science curriculum; and The 2008 Hopper Medal for outstanding aptitude and achievement in the field of Data Processing.
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Saint Peter’s College is the Jesuit College of New Jersey. Founded in 1872, Saint Peter’s has an enrollment of approximately 3,000 students in undergraduate and graduate programs. The main campus is located in Jersey City. The College has a branch campus for adults in Englewood Cliffs, NJ and also offers courses at various corporate sites at the Jersey City waterfront and in South Amboy, NJ.