Faculty Pair Honored for Excellence

PARAMUS, N.J. – Bergen Community College professors Leigh Jonaitis, Ph.D., and Coleen Kennedy, Ph.D., have each received the 2025 National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) Excellence Award for their commitment to teaching and student success. The pair travelled to NISOD’s annual International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence in Austin, Texas this summer to receive their awards.

Jonaitis has taught English and theatre at Bergen for the past 25 years, while also directing several Bergenstages productions. Alongside teaching and directing, Jonaitis has contributed to the broader professional community by serving in leadership roles for the National Two-Year College English Association.

“I’m deeply honored to receive this award,” Jonaitis said. “It’s meaningful to be recognized for work that I care about so much, especially when that work is often collaborative and behind-the-scenes. I'm grateful to my colleagues and students who make this work so enjoyable.”

Kennedy has worked at the College for 21 years, teaching biology and physiology. At Bergen, she led a study on electroencephalograms, a test that measures the electrical activity in the brain, while also encouraging students to conduct their own independent research projects. Kennedy also serves as an outreach liaison to local high schools such as Garfield High School and helps coordinate “Discovery Day,” an opportunity for high school students to visit Bergen’s campus to learn more about STEM and health professions programs. She beamed at receiving the NISOD award.

“I was just beyond thrilled because it really showed a vote of confidence from my colleagues and friends in the biology department,” Kennedy said. “And it was such a great honor.”

NISOD, a consortium of community and technical colleges committed to promoting and celebrating excellence in teaching, learning and leadership, established the Excellence Awards in 1991.

Based in Paramus, Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu), a public two-year coeducational college, enrolls more than 14,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields. More students graduate from Bergen than any other community college in the state.

Photo caption: Bergen Community College professors Leigh Jonaitis, Ph.D., and Coleen Kennedy, Ph.D., at the 2025 NISOD Conference.