The New Jersey City University (NJCU) Board of Trustees voted to remove Andrés Acebo’s interim tag about 18 months after he accepted the post, making him the school’s 13th president.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“At our regular Board of Trustees meeting on July 23, the Board voted unanimously to lift the interim title for Andrés Acebo and officially appoint him as the 13th president of New Jersey City University,” NJCU Board Chair Luke Visconti said in a statement.
“President Acebo and his management team have provided exceptional leadership during the most critical period in our university’s history, and while he may have carried an interim title, the transformative work he has accomplished alongside our campus community has been anything but temporary.”
Since taking office during a financial emergency, Acebo’s leadership resulted in Moody’s Ratings upgrading NJCU’s outlook from “negative” to “stable” in February 2024, followed by Fitch Ratings doing the same in November 2024.
In May 2025, Moody’s upgraded NJCU’s outlook from stable to positive—the first time Moody’s has ever assigned a positive outlook to the university.
Acebo addressed the audience following the board announcement, and after thanking the Board and his family.
“Thank you to the NJCU community for carrying me over the last two and a half years. None of this is ever done alone. Nothing meaningful and impactful is ever accomplished alone and I will forever honor and cherish this beautiful and beloved community that is New Jersey City University,” he declared.
Under Acebo’s leadership, NJCU was ranked No. 1 in New Jersey and 10th nationally in CollegeNET’s 2023 Social Mobility Index, maintaining its No. 1 state ranking and Top 20 national position in 2024.
The university graduated 1,667 students in Spring 2024—an 8.2 percent increase in bachelor’s degrees from 2023, and an additional 1,544 in 2025.
Acebo, who became only the third Hispanic to serve as leader of a four-year public institution in New Jersey and is the youngest known president to lead a public university in the state, has been widely recognized for his efforts.
In May 2024, ROI-NJ named him the No. 1 ranked Influencer in New Jersey Higher Education, and he ranked No. 4 overall in the 2024 NJBiz Education Power 50 List—the highest ranking of any college or university president in New Jersey.
Additionally, the Hudson County native and first-generation son of Cuban exiles has implemented four major strategic initiatives during his tenure: the NJCU Recovery and Revitalization Plan (April 2023), the university’s first Academic Master Plan (February 2024), the institution’s first Strategic Enrollment Plan (April 2024), and the first-ever Student Development and Community Engagement Strategic Plan (December 2024).
Acebo has also strengthened community partnerships, including the Hudson Connect Program with Hudson County Community College and similar agreements with Essex County College and Mercer County Community College.
The university’s relationship with local communities has flourished under Acebo’s leadership, including enhanced partnerships with Jersey City Public Schools and the creation of the NJCU President’s Community Advisory Council in August 2024.
The campus will plan a formal investiture for Acebo during the Fall 2025 semester, officials said.
