Agard-Jones is a professor of African, African American and Caribbean studies, and was one of the founders of the fledgling department at William Paterson in 1970, after creating the Black Studies Department at St. John's University, his alma mater. Gillette came to the University after nine years at the College of St. Rose in Albany, New York, where she was an associate professor and chairperson of the Department of Teacher Education. When she found out about the search for an associate dean, she researched the University's Web site and was impressed by the diversity of the campus. I was impressed when I came here, seeing all kinds of people in all kinds of positions. Plus, the students were congenial and you don't find that on every campus.
People are friendly, and there's a sense of community.
It's a pleasant place to be and that makes it easier to do your job. For his part, Agard-Jones had certain criteria in mind when he realized he was getting an associate dean. So during the entire search, the idea was to find someone who could actually be the mirror of the dean. The associate dean has to be someone who has the respect of the faculty, who's going to step in and do what needs to be done when they say it needs to be done, and who has the knowledge and skills to make things happen. I felt Maureen was the best of the best.