West Windsor resident Marvin Gardner may be well-known for his role in serving on the township’s Planning Board, but he has had an extensive career as an attorney, teacher, and even as a public servant.##M:[more]##
Now the Village Grande resident may be taking on yet another one, this time as a member of the state Commission on Higher Education. Gardner was nominated by Governor Jon S. Corzine to the seat last month, although an approval by the state Senate will have to wait at least until after the Senate’s summer recess ends, and perhaps until even after the November gubernatorial elections.
“I’m deeply honored that Governor Corzine has seen fit to nominate me to this extremely important and prestigious position,” Gardner says.
Gardner has had an extensive background, as both an educator and in a governor-appointed role on a state commission in New York. Gardner grew up in New York, where he performed a majority of his government service.
He earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Brooklyn College, of the City University of New York. He also earned his juris doctor degree and his master’s of law degree from Brooklyn Law School. He served as the assistant district attorney in New York City and also as counsel to the joint legislative committee on court reorganization in the New York state legislature, where he dealt with the reorganization of the court system.
He was also one of the first citizens to serve on the Planning Board in New York City. Gardner was also appointed by former New York Governor Mario Cuomo to the World Trade Council, which consisted of representatives from various state entities as well as the chancellor of the state university system. “The World Trade Council was designed really to promote trade for New York state companies, both with sister states throughout the country as well as foreign countries,” Gardner explained.
Gardner moved to West Windsor in June, 1999, with his wife, Ellie, he says, to be near his grandchildren, who live with his daughter in Plainsboro. His son is a physician in New York. One of his granddaughters is going into her senior year at High School South, and the other is a student at Cornell University. “They’re smarter than all of us,” he says of his grandchildren. All together, he has four grandchildren.
In addition to his role as the Planning Board chairman in West Windsor, Gardner also currently serves on the Mercer County Community College board of trustees. As part of that role, he serves on the operations committee, which develops policy for the college in all areas; the finance committee, which deals with expenditures and tuition fees; and the government, law, and public affairs committee, which is designed to promote the college and deal with governmental agencies that may have jurisdiction with respect to the college.
Corzine nominated Gardner to the Commission on Higher Education last month, and now his nomination must be approved by the Senate judiciary committee, which then votes on the nomination. The committee then sends the nomination to the full Senate for a vote. The Senate recessed at the end of last month and is not expected back until the fall. The Senate, however, may hold off on making appointments until after the gubernatorial election in November.
Still, Gardner does have some ideas in mind that he would like to tackle if his nomination is approved. “It’s important that our colleges and universities remain attractive to the superior student body that exists in New Jersey, and that they do not leave the state for colleges and universities elsewhere,” he says. “Under this scenario, upon graduation, it would be more than likely that these college graduates, with their extraordinary talents and special abilities, would translate their college education into making a major contribution to the New Jersey workforce and to enhancing the state’s economy.”
“I look forward to making a positive contribution in advancing these goals and objectives,” he added.
