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Dr. Jill Guzman, DNP, who has overseen and provided outstanding and comprehensive medical and behavioral services to students at William Paterson University for more than two decades, has been named the institution’s first Chief Wellness Officer.
In this new role, Guzman will lead the University’s efforts to develop stronger partnerships with state, regional, and local healthcare systems and related agencies and pursue new grant opportunities in these health and wellness areas. She will also work across the
University on initiatives focused on improving the health and wellbeing of students, faculty, and staff, collaborating with a wide range of offices within the institution, including the Division of Student Development, the Division of Human Resources, the Division of Equity and Inclusion, and the Office of Sponsored Programs, along with individual academic and co-curricular programs. She will also continue to provide medical oversight of health practices and consult on patient care as needed.
“The health and wellbeing of the William Paterson community is fundamental to the success of our students, faculty, and staff,” said President Richard J. Helldobler. “Dr. Guzman’s proven leadership in her field and on our campus will be invaluable as we strengthen our focus on this vital area and further build on our position as one of New Jersey’s leading healthcare educators through new partnerships and programs.”
Guzman will continue to provide administrative oversight to the University’s Counseling, Health, and Wellness Center (CHWC), of which she has served as director since 2013. In that role, her responsibilities have included supervision of primary health care, personal counseling, health education, prevention services, and co-curricular educational opportunities for a student population of more than 12,000.
Her leadership has been central to the launch of recent programs. Guzman secured a $462,000 Mental Health in Higher Education: Community Provider Partnerships and Professional Development Grant from the New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education to expand student mental health services on campus, including creation of an innovative student relaxation lounge for the neurodivergent population located in the University’s Cheng Library. As co-chair of WP’s annual Wellness Day program, which she helped establish in 2022, she organizes community health and wellness activities on a day when no classes are scheduled.
A critical member of WP’s emergency response leadership team, she served as co-chair of the University’s COVID-19 Pandemic Response Team. Her expert counsel to the administration regarding pandemic policy and evolving protocols allowed the University to maintain business continuity with minimal incidents or outbreak. Her work during the pandemic was recognized by the State of New Jersey with a 2023 New Jersey Governor’s Team of Excellence Award, and by William Paterson University with the President’s Medallion at the 2023 Commencement ceremony. In 2024, she was named an NJBIZ Healthcare Heroes honoree in the Health Care Professional category.
Guzman is an integral member of the William Paterson community. She has served on numerous University-wide committees, including the Women’s History Month Committee, the Students of Concern Committee, and the Director’s Council. Currently an adjunct faculty member in William Paterson’s School of Nursing, teaching pediatric nursing on the graduate level, she has been a clinical preceptor for the program’s doctoral, master’s, and bachelor’s degree nursing students, as well as athletic training students, and guest lectures in University courses on a wide variety of medical and behavioral health topics. Guzman also has published research on concussions and somatic symptoms in primary care.
Prior to joining William Paterson in 2003, Guzman was an emergency department nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital in Passaic and later a patient care coordinator in the emergency department at Wayne General Hospital. She also served as a pediatric nurse practitioner at North Hudson Community Action Health Centers in West New York from 2000 to 2013.
Guzman is a graduate of Villanova University with a bachelor of science degree in nursing. She holds a master of science degree in nursing, pediatric nurse practitioner, from Seton Hall University, and a doctor of nursing practice from William Paterson University. She is a lifelong resident of Wayne, where she lives with her husband and two sons.
