(MAHWAH, NJ) -- Ramapo College of New Jersey has emerged to the forefront of higher education in the state for its influential leadership, innovative hands-on instruction, and state-of-the-art learning environment.

ROI-NJ, a business media company and authoritative source for news and connections impacting New Jersey’s economic movers and shakers, recently recognized Ramapo College in several categories in its annual Influencers of Higher Education 2022 rankings.

President Cindy R. Jebb was listed among the state’s most influential college presidents. Dr. Jebb became Ramapo College’s fifth president in July 2021. She retired from the U.S. military after 39 years of service at the rank of Brigadier General, Professor Emerita, and as the first woman Dean of the Academic Board at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

In Dr. Jebb’s first year as president, the College delivered on its Fall Operations Plan with the priority of ensuring a healthy, well, safe, and vibrant student experience, while embracing a culture of dignity and respect marked by empathy, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Moreover, the College attracted renowned guest speakers, secured multiple federal grants, and launched a bold Strategic Planning process through a set of campus-wide future-based summits, an innovative needs statement process, and comprehensive Campus Facilities Master Planning.

The College’s Forensic Genealogy Innocence Lab was named among 15 unique academic programs in colleges across the state. The class, led by Law & Society Assistant Professor David Gurney, includes using genetic genealogy to identify families  from DNA evidence left at crime scenes.  Students use emerging tools of forensic genetic genealogy to help solve cases of wrongful conviction using real client files.

In addition, students receive hands-on instruction focused on the use of traditional genealogy, criminal procedures and post-conviction relief, and confidentiality within legal and genealogical contexts.

Also noted by ROI for “construction that didn’t stop during the pandemic” was the completion of The Peter P. Mercer Learning Commons, which opened in September 2021. The project completely re-envisioned the former library space by modernizing and expanding the building’s footprint to   feature state-of-the-art classrooms and laboratories, group and individual study rooms, media hubs, on-site technology resources, a makerspace design laboratory, a café, archives, centers and research projects, and displays breathtaking views of the Ramapo Mountains.