buzzworthy
Bloomfield & Montclair
BLOOMFIELD COLLEGE PERSISTS
A July 1 mergerwith Montclair State University has given anew lease onlifeto BLOOMFIELD COLLEGE , a small , financially-strapped private college , saving it from shutting its doors . The 150-year-old college is New Jersey ’ s only higher education institution with the official designation of a Predominantly Black Institution , a Hispanic-Serving Institution , and a Minority Serving Institution . Bloomfield College enrolls about 1,200 students , while MSU , apublic research university , serves 21,800students .
As of this fall , admissions tothe two institutions and classes on the two campuses remain separate , while the control and management of infrastructure and operations at Bloomfield shifts to MSU . Students at the newly minted “ Bloomfield College of Montclair State University ” should see no interruptions in services as the two institutions continue to determinewhat their partnership could eventually provide each , says MSU president Jonathan Koppell . MarchetaEvans , the former president of Bloomfield College who issued the call for a benefactor in 2021 , will serve as chancellor of Bloomfield College at Montclair State University under Koppell .
— MARYANN KORUTH
Montclair
INTRIGUE IN THE CONGO
Before the CIA-backed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba , attempts to destroy the Viet Cong in Vietnam , support for guerilla groups fighting Soviet troops in Afghanistan and the Iran-Contra affair , there was the plot to murder Patrice Lumumba , Congo ’ s first native leader . Lumumba ’ s overthrow in a CIA-backed coup and deathatthe handsof Congolese assassinsisthe subjectofthe fascinating non-fiction thriller THE LUMUMBA PLOT : THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE CIA AND ACOLD
WARASSASSINATION . Author Stuart Reid , a Montclair resident and executive editor at Foreign Affairs magazine , presents adeeply-researched account of the incidents that transformed the nascent Cold War into astruggle that spanned the globe .“ In Reid ’ sdeft hands , the tragic Lumumba story reads like aleCarré thriller ,” writes Pulitzer Prize-winner Caroline Elkins . The Lumumba Plot will be published by Knopf on Oct . 3 .
— CINDYSCHWEICH HANDLER
Montclair
MAKE WAYFOR THE BIKE BUS
Perhaps you ’ venoticed the orange signs proclaiming “ WeLovethe Montclair BikeBus .” Maybe you ’ ve seen one of the “ buses ” moving steadily along Montclair streets in morning rushhour traffic . Couldbe you ’ recurious about how to ride along . Ifso , you ’ reinluck : THE MONTCLAIR BIKE BUS willbeback this September , and will run most Fridays .
If you ’ re not familiar , the first thing to know is that an actual bus is not involved . The trend , which hasbeen seen in Barcelona and American cities from Brooklyn to Portland , Oregon , consists of kids riding their bikes alongside adultchaperones on prescribed routes at specific times to get to Montclair ’ s six public elementary schools . The local group was founded by Watchung Elementary School teacher and cyclist Drury Thorp , who read about thephenomenon and reached out to alocal cycling groupto chartaroute . InJune , The New York
Times took notice and told the group ’ sstory .“ We ’ re hoping to expand our routes to allowfor more families and students tojoin the bike bus from every partoftown , and we ’ d like to explore adding routes toat leastone of the middle schools ,” says Jessica Tillyer , aspokesperson for the group . • Formoreinformation , go to montclairbikebus . org , @ montclairbikebus or join the Bike BusWhatsApp community .
— CINDYSCHWEICHHANDLER
EVANS : MITSU YASUKAWA ; SIGN : CINDY SCHWEICH HANDLER ; BOOK : COURTESY OF KNOPF / PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE
6 BACK TOSCHOOL 2023 MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE