{"id":13215,"date":"2026-04-17T10:49:41","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T14:49:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/news\/?p=13215"},"modified":"2026-04-17T10:49:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T14:49:41","slug":"new-jersey-assemblywoman-carmen-morales-visits-saint-peters-university-strengthening-commitment-to-higher-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/news\/2026\/04\/17\/new-jersey-assemblywoman-carmen-morales-visits-saint-peters-university-strengthening-commitment-to-higher-education\/","title":{"rendered":"New Jersey Assemblywoman Carmen Morales Visits Â鶹´«Ã½AVPeter\u2019s University, Strengthening Commitment to Higher Education"},"content":{"rendered":"

JERSEY CITY, N.J. \u2013 April 16, 2026<\/b> \u2013 <\/span>Â鶹´«Ã½AVPeter\u2019s University welcomed NJ Assemblywoman Carmen Morales (District 34)<\/a> to campus on April 16, where she met with President Hubert Benitez and University leadership to discuss the evolving needs of higher education and opportunities to further strengthen collaboration.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>Assemblywoman Morales, who serves as chair of the New Jersey General Assembly Higher Education Committee, engaged in conversations focused on advancing access, supporting students and reinforcing the role of institutions like Â鶹´«Ã½AVPeter\u2019s University in preparing future leaders.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prior to her current role, Morales served as principal of Essex County Newark Tech High School, bringing an experienced perspective in education to her legislative work.<\/span><\/p>\n

During her visit, Assemblywoman Morales also participated in campus activities as part of Â鶹´«Ã½AVPeter\u2019s Day, experiencing firsthand the University\u2019s community and mission in action.<\/span><\/p>\n

President Benitez expressed his appreciation for Assemblywoman Morales\u2019 continued support and partnership.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHer leadership and commitment to higher education are invaluable,\u201d said Benitez. \u201cWe are grateful for her friendship and her shared dedication to ensuring that institutions like Â鶹´«Ã½AVPeter\u2019s continue to serve our students and communities at the highest level.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The visit reinforced a mutual commitment to strengthening the relationship between Â鶹´«Ã½AVPeter\u2019s University and state leadership, with a shared focus on expanding opportunity and advancing educational excellence.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

JERSEY CITY, N.J. \u2013 April 16, 2026 \u2013 Â鶹´«Ã½AVPeter\u2019s University welcomed NJ Assemblywoman Carmen Morales (District 34) to campus on April 16, where she met with President Hubert Benitez and University leadership to discuss the evolving needs of higher education and opportunities to further strengthen collaboration. Assemblywoman Morales, who serves as chair of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1293,"featured_media":13216,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3,5,2,6],"tags":[34],"class_list":["post-13215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-current-students","category-faculty-staff","category-future-students","category-press-release","tag-press"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNew Jersey Assemblywoman Carmen Morales Visits Â鶹´«Ã½AVPeter\u2019s University, Strengthening Commitment to Higher Education - News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Â鶹´«Ã½AVPeter's University welcomed its largest freshmen class in either years as the 25-26 year kicks off with Mass of the Holy Spirit.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/news\/2026\/04\/17\/new-jersey-assemblywoman-carmen-morales-visits-saint-peters-university-strengthening-commitment-to-higher-education\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"dbocchino\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/news\/2026\/04\/17\/new-jersey-assemblywoman-carmen-morales-visits-saint-peters-university-strengthening-commitment-to-higher-education\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/news\/2026\/04\/17\/new-jersey-assemblywoman-carmen-morales-visits-saint-peters-university-strengthening-commitment-to-higher-education\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"dbocchino\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/e34d0022b2f64ab992c01054c76a4ab2\"},\"headline\":\"New Jersey Assemblywoman Carmen Morales Visits Â鶹´«Ã½AVPeter\u2019s University, Strengthening Commitment to Higher Education\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-17T14:49:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/news\/2026\/04\/17\/new-jersey-assemblywoman-carmen-morales-visits-saint-peters-university-strengthening-commitment-to-higher-education\/\"},\"wordCount\":232,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/news\/2026\/04\/17\/new-jersey-assemblywoman-carmen-morales-visits-saint-peters-university-strengthening-commitment-to-higher-education\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/230\/files\/2026\/04\/dr-benitez-asw-morales-2-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"press\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Alumni\",\"Current Students\",\"Faculty Staff\",\"Future Students\",\"Press Release\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/news\/2026\/04\/17\/new-jersey-assemblywoman-carmen-morales-visits-saint-peters-university-strengthening-commitment-to-higher-education\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/news\/2026\/04\/17\/new-jersey-assemblywoman-carmen-morales-visits-saint-peters-university-strengthening-commitment-to-higher-education\/\",\"name\":\"New Jersey Assemblywoman Carmen Morales Visits Â鶹´«Ã½AVPeter\u2019s University, Strengthening Commitment to Higher Education - 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