August 8, 2019
August 8, 2019, Jersey City, NJ – Hudson County Community College (HCCC) President Dr. Chris Reber announced today that the College's Board of Trustees Chairman, William J. Netchert, Esq., has been named the recipient of the 2019 Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) Northeast Region M. Dale Ensign Trustee Leadership Award.
The M. Dale Ensign Trustee Leadership Award honors an individual who has made significant contributions as a trustee in promoting the community college concept. The ACCT regional awards program recognizes one trustee from each of the five regions of the United States. The awards will be presented during the ACCT Leadership Congress in San Francisco on October 18, 2019. As a regional awardee, Mr. Netchert will be considered for the 2019 National Trustee award, which will be presented at the Annual Awards Gala later that evening.
HCCC Trustee Vice Chair Bakari J. Lee, Esq. nominated Mr. Netchert for the award on behalf of President Reber and the entire HCCC Board of Trustees. In his nominating letter, Mr. Lee stated: “Mr. Netchert is passionate about education, our community, and most assuredly, about Hudson County Community College. He has devoted much of his life in service to the community and has been a stalwart advocate for our students and their families. Mr. Netchert has worked tirelessly – and often out of public view – to ensure that the students, faculty, and staff of Hudson County Community College are afforded the resources they need to succeed.”
“This award is a testament to all Bill Netchert has done for the College, our students, and our community,” Dr. Reber said. He noted that Mr. Netchert is determined to provide Hudson County Community College students with the very best education, and played a significant role in securing resources for construction of the College's award-winning Culinary Arts Conference Center, North Hudson Campus, Gabert Library, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Building, as well as the revitalization and repurposing of several other facilities including the new HCCC Student Center, which will open next year.
A lifelong Jersey City resident, Mr. Netchert is a Saint Peter's Preparatory High School graduate who earned his bachelor’s degree from Saint Peter’s College (now Saint Peter’s University), and his law degree from Fordham University School of Law. He earned the Wall Street Award for Excellence in Economics in 1966.
Now a senior partner in the law firm of Netchert, Dineen & Hillman, Mr. Netchert formerly served as Assistant Counsel and as Adjustor for the County of Hudson, and as the director's personal counsel on operations for the New Jersey Division of Motor Vehicles. Before that time, he was Law Secretary for Judge Peter P. Artaserse, and a Law Clerk at Emmett, Marvin, and Martin, Esqs. in New York City. A member of the American and New Jersey Bar Associations, and past President of the Hudson County Bar Association, he is also a member of the American Judicature Society, Fordham Law School Alumni Association, and the New Jersey Planning Officials.
Mr. Netchert was sworn in as a member of the Hudson County Community College Board of Trustees in 2003 and has served as Chairman since 2005.