Four Hired to Renew Focus on Alumni
The College's Office of Development and Alumni Affairs has hired four employees who will work to re-engage alumni in the life of The College. For two, it is a homecoming. Leading the new team is William R. Mate, associate vice president of development and alumni affairs. At TCNJ, Mr. Mate's top priority is to embrace and serve the alumni. "We welcome and encourage all alumni to come back to the campus and to become active in The College."

Mr. Mate's other goals include promoting scholarship opportunities for students, promoting educational opportunities for faculty, and promoting The College of New Jersey. He came to The College from the Mercer County Chamber of Commerce where he served as president since January 1, 1998. His ties to the Mercer County community also include his position as Director of Economic Development for Mercer County, where one of his most visible accomplishments was the construction of Waterfront Park, home of the Trenton Thunder.

Mr. Mate holds a BA in economics from the University of Delaware and an MBA in marketing from Rider University and has fulfilled doctoral course work at Rutgers University. He lives in Lawrenceville. The other new members of the development and alumni affairs office are Peter Manetas, Janis Blayne Paul, and Mike Curry.

Peter Manetas joins The College as assistant director of development and alumni affairs. His primary work is in development, re-engaging alumni with The College, and matching alumni talents with TCNJ needs. Mr. Manetas returned to TCNJ after seven and a half years at Rider University where he most recently served as associate director of major gifts. Manetas worked for The College from 1984 to 1991 as sports information director. He left The College in 1991 to become Rider University's assistant athletic director for marketing and public relations. Mr. Manetas is involved in the local community and has served for ten years as a member and current president-elect of the Rotary International of Trenton. He is a member of the Mercer County Chamber of Commerce and sits on the board of directors of Communications Advertising and Marketing Association of New Jersey (CAMA). He earned a BA in journalism in 1977 and a Master of Arts in Education in 1984 both from Rider University. He resides in Yardley, PA.

Janis Blayne Paul joins The College as development assistant. She worked in development at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mercer County since 1997, most recently serving as the director. Prior to working for Big Brothers Big Sisters, Ms. Blayne Paul was an architect with Faridy Thorne Fraytak in Trenton and president of Design Innovators/Coffee Frog Graphics, a residential architecture and graphic design firm. She holds a bachelor of architecture degree from Penn State University. She resides in Monmouth Junction.

Mike Curry returned to The College in January as alumni affairs assistant. He was an assistant professor at The College from 1966 to 1985 teaching physical education, health, and recreation courses. He also served as head wrestling coach from 1966 to 1976 and assistant football coach from 1966 to 1971. He is a 1963 graduate of Trenton State College and was inducted into The College's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994.

Most recently, Mr. Curry served as director of sales and marketing for Copper Mountain Real Estate in Colorado. Curry's experience as director of such events as the Denver Broncos/John Elway Celebrity Charity Ski Race and the Golf/Trout Charity Tournament for Multiple Sclerosis provides a good background for his duties at The College, which include planning alumni programming and special events. Mr. Curry holds an MS from Indiana State University and completed his doctoral course work at Temple University. He resides in Manasquan.