Kesselman formally named president of Stockton University

Harvey Kesselman, the longtime Stockton University administrator who has spent the last seven months serving as acting president, was officially named to the post Wednesday by university trustees.

Kesselman's affiliation with Stockton goes back to its founding, when he was a student in the first classes in 1971. He has spent the last 35 years as a Stockton administrator, including serving as dean of the education school and vice president for student affairs. He was provost and executive vice president most recently before stepping into the role of acting president in April.

Kesselman, 64, abandoned plans to leave his alma mater for the University of Southern Maine, where he would have become president, in order to help manage Stockton as it dealt with the fallout from the collapsed bid to create a residential Atlantic City campus in the former Showboat casino property. The trustees soon declared their intent to make Kesselman president.

As president, Kesselman will be paid $320,850 a year, the same as the previous president and the amount he had made as acting and interim president. He will also receive a $4,000 monthly housing stipend, $1,200 less than the previous president, and the use of a car. His contract, which takes effect Jan. 1, runs through June 30, 2019.

- Jonathan Lai