Business leaders, local politicians, and higher education professionals gathered at Harborside (Exchange Place, Jersey City, NJ) on Thursday, June 4 for the 11th Jersey City Summit for Real Estate Investment, Placemaking & Innovation.
More than 1,250 attendees were in attendance to listen to discussions by a diverse roster of speakers. Jersey City Mayor James Solomon was in attendance and a special video message was delivered to the crowd of attendees by New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill.
The afternoon was highlighted by a fireside discussion between New Jersey City University President Andres Acebo and Saint Peter’s University President Hubert Benitez, moderated by NJBIZ reporter Matthew Fazelpoor.
Also in attendance from Saint Peter’s were members of the President’s Cabinet – Dr. Guillermo DeVeyga, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer; Paula Mercado-Hak, Vice President and General Counsel & Chief External Affairs Officer; and Daniel Bocchino, Interim Assistant Vice President for Communications and Marketing.
Both university presidents discussed the culmination of the 2025-2026 academic years on their campuses, highlighted by their recent commencement ceremonies. President Acebo noted that the NJCU commencement served as the last ceremony the university would have as an independently run institution, while President Benitez celebrated the return of commencement to the Saint Peter’s campus.
Dr. Benitez reaffirmed the university’s standing in the Jersey City community, noting that while high school students within New Jersey often leave the state to attend college elsewhere, the focus for both local schools should be on educating the local workforce to support Hudson County and the surrounding communities. He remarked that “The hallmark of Saint Peter’s is keeping our Jesuit values in all we do as an engine of workforce development” for the community at large. Dr. Benitez went on to discuss the newly opened Health Education, Simulation and Innovation Suite at the School of Nursing and Health Professions, highlighting Saint Peter’s commitment to significantly expanding nursing enrollment and leveraging this and other innovative learning spaces to strengthen its presence across a range of health care disciplines and workforce development initiatives.
President Acebo acknowledged the sometimes divisive role AI plays in education, and noted that it can be democratizing in terms of educational opportunities and should be used intentionally in conjunction with business development. The leaders reiterated a commitment to educating the local Jersey City and Hudson County community. Dr. Benitez specifically highlighted Saint Peter’s designation as a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), with programs offered entirely in Spanish, while emphasizing that the University’s distinguishing characteristic is not simply what it does, but how it does it: delivering an accessible, well-rounded education grounded in the Jesuit values that guide its mission and commitment to forming students for lives of purpose, leadership, and service.
As both Saint Peter’s and NJCU focus on their next chapters of their evolution, the focus at Saint Peter’s will continue to be on revitalizing and reimagining the school’s place as the Jesuit university of New Jersey, offering a value-based education accessible and affordable to all.