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William Paterson University has been recognized as a “Great College to Work For” for the second consecutive year, earning national recognition based primarily on feedback from the University’s own faculty and staff. The honor, awarded to just 76 institutions across the country, is one of the largest and most respected workplace recognitions in the field.
For 2026, William Paterson received recognition in two areas: Job Satisfaction and Support and Compensation and Benefits, expanding upon the University’s inaugural recognition in 2025, when it was honored in the Compensation and Benefits category. William Paterson is the only New Jersey institution recognized in either category this year.
“I am proud of the William Paterson community for this well-deserved recognition,” said University President Richard Helldobler. “Every faculty and staff member contributes to making William Paterson a great place to build a career while educating and supporting the students who are changing the social fabric of New Jersey and our nation. As colleges and universities continue to confront a dramatically changing higher ed landscape, one of the best competitive advantages an institution has is its people. By making William Paterson a great place for employees, we are making it a stronger institution for our students, alumni, and our entire community.”
“While we are still a work in progress and believe strongly in continuous improvement, we are pleased and humbled to be recognized for a second consecutive year as a Great College to Work For,” says Vice President for Human Resources Allison Boucher-Jarvis. “This recognition reflects the hard work of our entire community, including our talented faculty and staff, and our ongoing commitment to creating a more inclusive, flexible, people-first workplace. We know there is always more to do—and we’re proud of the progress we continue to make together.”
The Great Colleges to Work For program, co-founded by The Chronicle of Higher Education and organizational development firm ModernThink, evaluates participating institutions across 10 workplace categories. Employee feedback collected through the ModernThink Higher Education Insight Survey is the primary factor in determining recognition. Participating institutions also complete a questionnaire examining employment data, policies, and practices.
In Job Satisfaction and Support, which measures employee perceptions of job fit, autonomy, and access to the resources needed to do their jobs, William Paterson’s score increased 5 percent from 2025. The highest-scoring survey statement within the category in both years was “The work I do is meaningful to me.” William Paterson was the only participating institution in the program’s Mid East region—which includes Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania—to receive recognition in the category.
In Compensation and Benefits, employee responses also showed notable gains. Positive response to the statement “I am paid fairly for my work” increased 18 percent from the previous year, while the response to “This institution’s benefits meet my needs” increased 7 percent. The percentage of respondents who reported being “very satisfied” with their benefits increased 5.7 percent.
Beyond the two areas in which William Paterson received recognition, the University also continues to score higher than peer institutions in Inclusion, Belonging, and Community and Performance Management, among other areas included in ModernThink’s 10-category evaluation, Boucher-Jarvis notes.
William Paterson employs close to 1,000 full-time faculty and staff and offers a range of workplace programs and benefits designed to support employees. These include flexible work arrangements, a four-day summer work week, retirement planning and savings opportunities, tuition benefits for employees and their dependents, professional development programming, and opportunities for career advancement within the University.
The 2026 Great Colleges to Work For recognition follows William Paterson’s recent naming to Forbes’ Best-In-State Employers list for the third consecutive year, marking the University’s second national workplace recognition based substantially on employee feedback.
