Monica L. Weaver worked as Mercer County Community College’s Provost and Dean to the James Kerney Campus for the past 12 years. Weaver passed away from breast cancer on April 1 and is survived by her daughter Kai Lynn, her father Benjamin and her aunt Amanda Goodson.
Since her start at the Trenton campus, Weaver managed many operations such as Youth College, the Community Education and Training programs, the Trenton Makes Program and the New Jersey Youth Corps Trenton.
Weaver grew up in Cream Ridge, NJ just a few minutes from Allentown where she attended and graduated from high school. She contributed to her high school newspaper and yearbook. She graduated from Rider with a B.A. in Journalism and Public Relations and earned a Master’s of Science degree in Higher Education Management at University of Pennsylvania, then a Master’s in Counselor Education from Kean University and finally a certificate of advanced educational specialization (C.A.E.S.) in Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology from Boston College.
Provost Weaver showed her dedication to students continuously. At last year’s Trenton campus 29th Celebration of Academic Achievement 200 students were honored for their completion of their programs of study. Weaver said of them in a Mercer News article, “These individuals have worked so very hard. They have earned the right to chart their own destiny.”
Coordinator of Enrollment and Student Services at the downtown campus, Kimberly Bowser, was a colleague and friend to Weaver.
Bowser told The VOICE “Even on days when she wasn’t feeling well, [Monica] would take the time to listen to you and find a positive spin on the situation. You could feel the love that she had for each of us in the time she spent with [us]… There have been countless times, too many to remember, that Monica would put herself on the back burner to solve a situation or help a student.”
Dean of Students, Dr. Diane Campbell, spoke to The VOICE about Weaver’s immersive approach to running the Trenton campus saying, “Monica Weaver connected into the community to try to be able to better help the students who too
k classes a the James Kerney Campus. Although students at both campuses need assistance at one time or another, Monica had a special interest in the students who lived in Trenton.”
One of the places Weaver worked to help the Trenton was through her position as a board member in the Trenton Downtown Association (TDA). TDA is a non-profit organization with the aim of “revitalizing” the capital city of NJ through ways of increasing business competition and engaging the citizens.
Chairman of the board of directors at Trenton Downtown Association, Willard Stanback, says of Weaver, “She was helpful and supportive both outside and inside the boardroom. Actually, Monica and I were planning for her to give me a tour of the new Mercer building and eat there… She also was very enthusiastic about the downtown facility and the opportunities it provided both to her students and the downtown community.”
Assistant Director of the Career Training Institute at the Trenton campus, Craig Morris, said of Weaver, “Her legacy is something that we the staff of JKC will carry on. She knew the importance of education in helping lift up not only individuals but how that impact has a ripple effect to help a family.”
Many loved ones have left messages on Ms. Weaver’s online obituary. One being Mercer’s Operations Coordinator for Mercer’s Center for Continuing Studies, Roseann Cooper.
She writes, “Born at Thanksgiving time and home on Easter – Thanksgiving and Celebration of New Life – that about sums up Monica. We are all better for her life. She was a wonderful colleague, an outstanding woman, and a devoted mom. Rest in Peace, Monica and peace to all those who remain to carry on your work.”
