Montville Resident Honored as 'Distinguished Educator'

The New Jersey Council of Education selected Dr. Richard G. Bozza, executive director of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators (NJASA), as the recipient of the 2012 New Jersey Council of Education Distinguished Educator Award.

The Council of Education, established in 1887, is a statewide organization which encompasses education at all levels, including elementary, secondary, and college. It brings together professionals in the roles of school administrator, college professor and Department of Education emissary.

Annually at its spring meeting, a council member(s) is bestowed the honor of Distinguished Educator for their dedication to the advancement of education in the State of New Jersey, their contributions to countless children in the school districts in which they worked, and their exemplary professional leadership.  

New Jersey Council of Education President Terry Vanaman-Cole said, “Dr. Bozza knows the skills needed to be a successful educational leader and shares these key elements with all who aspire to that level. He is an administrator who practices what he preaches.”

Additionally, Vanaman-Cole said, “Rich is the epitome of the school leader – chief education officer, principal, coach, advisor and initiator of some of the most unique student enrichment programs in the state.”

Dr. Bozza, highly respected in both the state and national educational communities, has provided training for superintendents, principals, teachers and other educational personnel across the country on such topics as: organizational development, instructional leadership and effective teaching.

In accepting this prestigious New Jersey Council of Education Distinguished Educator Award, Dr. Bozza said, “One of my lifetime goals is to be an advocate for public education and for the educators who serve the children of our state. At this critical time in New Jersey’s educational community, I will continue to accept new challenges and I intend to move forward the Jeffersonian belief – the importance of an educated citizenry in a representative form of democratic government.

Dr. Bozza, by a unanimous vote of the NJASA Executive Committee in December 2007, was named the Association’s sixth Executive Director.

NJASA is an organization of chief education officers and school administrators who lead school districts in New Jersey’s 21 counties. The Association’s mission is to ensure a superior statewide system of education.

He is a member of the State Executive Directors Advisory Committee to the American Association of School Administrators (AASA). In 2004, he was elected to the governing board of the AASA following numerous years’ of service as a member of that organization's delegate assembly.

Prior to assuming the helm of NJASA, he served as the Executive Director of the Academy for Teaching and Leadership. Dr. Bozza, an exceptional leader with 33 years experience as a school administrator, was the chief education officer of the Berkeley Heights Public Schools, the Montville Public Schools, and the Marie H. Katzenbach School for the Deaf. He began his professional career as a middle school Spanish teacher in Long Branch, NJ in 1970.

He is the recipient of the 2005 NJASA Distinguished Service Award, the highest honor conferred by NJASA upon its members. In addition, he received the 2004 Rutgers University, Graduate School of Education Alumni Association, Distinguished Service Award.

Community service has been an important part of Dr. Bozza's life. He has served as a member of the Morris County Human Relations Commission and as a director of the Trenton Rotary Club, the Montville Kiwanis Club, the Montville Public Library, the Berkeley Heights Library Board, D.A.R.E New Jersey, and the Morris-Union Jointure Commission Board of Education.

A Montville resident, he earned his Doctorate of Education from Rutgers University. He received his Master’s degree and his Bachelor of Science degree from Monmouth University.