Rutgers to Host Conference and Dinner Commemorating 40th Anniversary of Educational Opportunity Fund of New Jersey

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – The Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) of New Jersey will celebrate its 40th anniversary with a conference and dinner at Rutgers University Friday and Saturday, Nov. 14 and 15. Keynote speakers include Rutgers’ Vice President for Public Affairs Jeannine LaRue, an EOF alumna from Glassboro State College (now Rowan University). The conference will take place at the Rutgers Student Center in New Brunswick, N.J.

The Educational Opportunity Fund of New Jersey was established in 1968 – a year after the summer riots of 1967 in Newark forced the state to examine inequalities in higher education for minorities and other disadvantaged groups. Forty years later, the program enrolls more than 12,000 educationally and economically disadvantaged students in more than 50 colleges and universities across the state. The fund provides for supplemental financial aid and support services to first-generation college students who meet economic and educational criteria.

Eddie Manning, an associate dean and head of Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) EOF program, said the program has evolved from its initial focus on racial and ethnic disparities. It now targets promising students with economic and educational need across races and nationalities. “The original intent was for these programs to come into place, and then they would be done away with [once the need was fulfilled],” Manning said. “Forty years later, the need is greater than it has ever been. EOF is needed now more than ever.”

Once admitted to college, all EOF students participate in pre-college summer programs that prepare them for college-level reading, writing and quantitative studies. They also receive counseling on how to manage college life, with the goal of helping them stay in school and graduate.

EOF has spawned several statewide associations, including the Alliance of EOF Students of New Jersey and the EOF Professional Association of New Jersey. At the 40th anniversary dinner, another association – the EOF Statewide Alumni Association – will officially come into existence. The statewide association will provide additional annual scholarships and serve as a means for the 30,000 EOF alumni to advocate for continued program support.

“We want these individuals to advocate on the state level for the program, so it can continue for years to come,” said Simone Mack Bright, co-chair of the alumni association and a senior counselor in SAS EOF. “They are lawyers, doctors and other professionals, and we want to have these alumni go before the state Legislature.”

In addition to LaRue, speakers will include EOF alumni Anibal Ramos Jr., a Newark councilman; Brian Morgan, vice president at IBM Global Technology Services; and Mykal Frierson, CNN associate editorial producer. The two-day conference is targeted for EOF professional staff on Friday and for students and EOF professionals on Saturday.

Rutgers currently has 2,870 students enrolled in the EOF program and is the largest EOF program in the state.