Montclair State University will mark a meaningful new tradition on May 19 with the inaugural Red Hawk Recognition Day, a celebration dedicated to honoring the contributions of University employees and celebrating impact.

This new, campus-wide event brings together major acknowledgment events under one umbrella: the Presidential Excellence Awards, the Employee Milestone Celebration, and the “ME Time” Employee Mixer at the Finley Gallery, open to all faculty and staff. Together, they form a day of gratitude and celebration for the many people who help move Montclair forward.

The idea for Red Hawk Recognition Day came directly from President Jonathan Koppell, who envisioned a unified occasion to spotlight the people behind the University’s growth.

“We tend to talk about the rise of the university in the aggregate,” said President Koppell. “More students, more research, higher performance, more projects in the community—and it’s impressive. But it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that those numbers are the result of individual effort.”

Koppell emphasized that while various departments and units have long held their own recognition activities, a centralized, university-wide celebration was needed. “It’s important that we celebrate as a university the contributions people are making,” he said. “This isn’t intended to take the place of local recognition, but to complement it with something broader, something that allows for peer nominations and collective acknowledgment.”

The response from the community was enthusiastic. Hundreds of nominations were submitted for this year’s Presidential Excellence Awards, with particularly high interest in the Unsung Hero category. “That tells you there are a lot of people on campus who want others to know about the quiet, impactful work their colleagues are doing,” Koppell noted. “And that says a lot about the culture of the place.”

Red Hawk Recognition Day is more than an event; it’s a reflection of Montclair’s commitment to recognizing and valuing the people who make its mission possible. We hope you will come join in the celebration.