Academic Award Descriptions

Accounting Program Achievement Award

The Accounting Program Achievement Award is presented to students who have excelled academically and demonstrated a commitment to their profession. This award carries a prize of Accounting CPA Review Course Materials: textbooks and software, donated by Dr. Hossein Nouri.

Daniel R. Hall Award

The Economics Program of the College of New Jersey administers the Dr. Daniel R. Hall Award to acknowledge and reward excellence in community service and the study of economics. The award was created in 1992 by a group of students to encourage future students to emulate the attributes of excellence and service personified by Dr. Daniel R. Hall, Chairman of the Economics Department at that time.  Additional information can be viewed here.

Delta Sigma Pi Scholarship Key

Delta Sigma Pi, the national business fraternity, permits each of its chapters to recognize the graduate with the highest grade point average by awarding the Delta Sigma Pi Scholarship Key.

ETS Recognition Award

This award is presented to the student who earns the highest grade on the annual Senior Exit Exam. Administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), this exam is designed to measure a student’s knowledge and ability to apply significant facts, concepts, theories, and analytical methods. It represents a wide range of difficulty, and attempts to cover both depth and breadth in assessing students’ levels of achievement.

Management Planning, Inc. Academic Accomplishment in Finance Award

This award goes to the student who has performed at an exceptional level in Finance to advance the program at TCNJ. This award carries a prize of $500 contributed by Management Planning, Inc.

Provident Bank Banking Award

Provident Bank is the corporate sponsor of the School's financial institutions program. This organization presents $500 to the student with the highest level of academic achievement in Management of Financial Instututions. Students of all majors, within the School of Business, are eligible to receive this award.

Student Leadership Recognition Award

The School of Business recognizes graduating seniors who have made outstanding contributions to student organizations affiliated with the School of Business through service and leadership.

Wall Street Journal Recognition Award

The Wall Street Journal Student Achievement Award is presented to a business graduate who has excelled academically and demonstrated a commitment to the graduate’s profession. The student will receive a one-year subscription to the Wall Street Journal and an engraved paperweight.

Wharton Valuation Award

Wharton Valuation Associates is the corporate sponsor of the school’s financial valuation program. This organization presents $500 to the student who completes the best valuation project. Students of all majors are eligible to receive this award.

Dr. Neil Gaston Student Achievement Award

Until his retirement on January 1, 2001, Dr. Neil Gaston spent almost all of his adult life (about 44 years) at The College of New Jersey.  When he first arrived as a freshman in 1956, the College was known as Trenton State Teachers' College.  He graduated in 1960, earning his Masters' Degree in 1962 from what had become Trenton State College.  After graduation he accepted a teaching position at Sparta NJ High School, but in his third year there he was invited to return to the College as a faculty member--an invitation which he, at first, refused.

During the next 38 years Dr. Gaston served as a faculty member at the College. In 1971, while a faculty member, Dr. Gaston received his doctorate in business education from New York University.  Also, during this time, he rose from an instructor to a full professor.  In 1992 he was appointed Associate Dean for Student Affairs in the School of Business--a position he would not accept if it took him completely out of the classroom.  Over the years he taught a variety of courses, including Business Education courses, Business Law, Personal Finance, Risk and Insurance.  Additionally, he served as editor of a state professional magazine, wrote and published a number of articles on the teaching of business education, and did some extensive writing for West Publishing Company and the New York Stock Exchange.

Dr. Gaston came to love the College, and especially its students.  He took great pleasure in chairing the Student Achievement Award Committee, the award that now bears his name. The award consists of a $500 award and a plaque, with an engraved inscription of the recipient’s name, to be displayed permanently in the School of Business.

To be eligible for the award, a recipient must be a graduating senior in the School of Business with a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.2, both overall and in business courses.  The winning student must also have a significant record of involvement in college and/or community activities, demonstrate strong leadership skills and character, and show great promise for future success.

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