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Stephen Bolyai, senior vice president for administration and finance, who is retiring May 31 after more than three decades of service to the University, received the 2021 President’s Medallion during the University’s Commencement ceremonies in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the University.
Bolyai was honored during the Virtual Commencement ceremony on May 14, and during the afternoon in-person Commencement ceremony on May 17 for bachelor’s degree candidates in the University’s Cotsakos College of Business. The President’s Medallion is the University’s highest honor and is awarded periodically by the University President to individuals who have made outstanding contributions of service to the University community, to academe, or to society as a whole, and who provide a positive role model through their outstanding service.
During Bolyai’s tenure, William Paterson developed from a college to a university, grew and modernized its campus and program offerings, and evolved into the modern student-focused institution that it is today, thanks in large part to his efforts. Among the many highlights of his William Paterson career, he oversaw the development of a Facilities Master Plan and several smaller zone plans related to academic space, residence life, athletics, traffic flow, and pedestrian wayfaring. Along the way, he managed more than $550 million in capital projects, including the construction and acquisition of 10 new academic, student support, and residence life buildings, resulting in a 75 percent increase in square footage on a campus that increased in acreage by 18 percent, from 346 acres to 407 acres. He also led the issuance of $480 million in University bonds.
“Despite the demands of managing big budgets, overseeing hundreds of employees and many large-scale construction projects, Steve does it all with a smile and his trademark easygoing demeanor on display,” said President Richard Helldobler in presenting the award. “Through it all, he has been a wonderful and supportive colleague to all in the Cabinet and to his colleagues in Administration and Finance. I owe him so much for all the support and guidance he gave me when I first joined William Paterson and was trying to learn as much as I could as quickly as I could about this great University. In the three years since then, he has been a steady, creative, gracious, and funny colleague, who I can always count on. Thank you, Steve.”
“In my position, I have interacted and worked with all members of the campus community, including physical plant staff, police officers, administrative staff, athletics, professional staff, faculty, academic leadership, administrative leadership, both Foundation and University Board members and, of course, three presidents,” said Bolyai. “It has been a pleasure being in the company of so many dedicated individuals who share William Paterson University’s common vision of helping students succeed. I am extremely honored to receive this unexpected award.”
Bolyai came to the United States at the age of five as an immigrant and a refugee, as his family fled the occupation of Hungary by the Soviet Union. The family, none of whom spoke English, settled in Fall River, Massachusetts, sponsored by a local church, and several years later, the family became naturalized American citizens. After high school, Bolyai enrolled at Northeastern University, where he worked his way through college, at various times driving a taxi, working as a custodian, pumping gas and serving as a tour guide in the Massachusetts State House.
After earning a degree in sociology, Bolyai held management positions at B.M.C. Durfee Trust Company, Wilmington Sales, Westinghouse Electric, Fairleigh Dickinson University, where he earned an MBA, and University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey before joining William Paterson in 1988 as assistant vice president for business services. From 1990 to 1997, he served as associate vice president for finance and controller, and in 1997 became vice president of administration and finance. He was named senior vice president for administration and finance in 2016.
Bolyai has helped make William Paterson a leader in developing a sustainable campus with the installation of a 3.1 megawatt solar panel array, which remains one of the largest installations at a four-year institution in the country and provides about 15 percent of the campus’s electricity needs. Under his leadership, William Paterson was the first university in New Jersey to use a public-private partnership for this type of initiative and other energy reduction projects.
Less noticeable to the University community, but just as importantly, he instituted extensive financial planning processes and controls to ensure the financial health of the institution. A perfect record of positive external reviews by auditors and the State of New Jersey are a testament to his success.
Bolyai also led an expansion of the campus to coincide with programmatic and student growth. During his tenure, the campus has grown from 236 to 407 acres and the square footage of campus buildings has doubled with the addition of major facilities, including the expanded Science Complex; the construction of University Hall, with facilities for the health professions; the purchase and transformation of corporate office buildingsat 1600 and 1800 Valley Road to house the University’s education, business, high school, and continuing and education programs and a forthcoming childcare center; several new residence halls; and a vibrant University Commons.
He has also been integrally involved in state policy issues that impact New Jersey public higher education. He drafted language and helped with revisions to the New Jersey State Colleges Contract Law, and was instrumental in organizing the North Jersey Public and Private Colleges Purchasing Collaborative. He served as chairperson of the New Jersey Public Colleges Business Officers Group and the New Jersey Public Colleges Vice Presidents for Administration and Finance Council, and on a working group for New Jersey’s Plan for Higher Education under Governor Murphy’s Task Force for Higher Education.
Beyond the campus, Bolyai has contributed to his profession and to New Jersey’s other public institutions of higher education by helping create professional development programs, as well as best practices for contracting and other budget controls.
