Office of Alumni Relations Relocates to New Home in Machuga Student Center

The Office of Alumni Relations—and the University’s more than 85,000 alumni—have a new home in the John Victor Machuga Student Center on campus as of the fall 2023 semester.

The move, after two decades in the Allan and Michele Gorab Alumni House in nearby North Haledon, is designed to provide additional opportunities for alumni to interact and engage with students. The new space will be rededicated as the Allan and Michele Gorab Alumni Center during a special ceremony on Thursday, November 30.

“It is increasingly important for our alumni to be able to interact with our students in a space that is on the main campus of the University they attended,” says Pamela Ferguson, vice president for institutional advancement. “By relocating the Alumni Relations office to the Student Center, we can expand the opportunities for our alumni to regularly interact with, engage, and mentor our current students, who are our alumni of the future.”

The new, inviting space, on the third floor of the Student Center, overlooks the campus with a view of Zanfino Plaza and is adjacent to student-focused offices, including the Career Development Center, home of the Pesce Family Mentoring Institute, as well as the Career Closet; the Student Government Association, the Office of Student Diversity and Inclusion, and student club offices.

Allan Gorab ’72, who served as president of the Alumni Association from 1992 to 2000, and his wife, Michele, made a lead gift in 2001 to establish a home for alumni. They have been donors to the University for 41 years and are members of the Heritage Society, which celebrates loyal donors who have given to William Paterson for 20 or more years.

Allan Gorab, who is a retired general manager of Koch Modular Process Systems, has been a member of the William Paterson University Foundation Board since 1998 and serves as chair of the Foundation’s scholarship committee and a member of the finance committee. Michele Gorab is a retired paralegal for the Ford Foundation. Together, they have supported a wide range of fund-raising efforts, including the annual fund and scholarships. They established the Joseph A. Gorab Scholarship in honor of Allan’s late uncle, an inspirational educator and superintendent of Manchester Regional High School in Haledon, as well as the Allan and Michele Gorab Endowed Scholarship.

The Office of Alumni Relations is now located in the John Victor Machuga Student Center, Suite 302. To contact the office, call 973-720-2175.

11/16/23