Michael Palladino

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

Michael A. Palladino is Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at ÒùÐÔÊÓƵ University, NJ. He is the former Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at Bloomfield College of Montclair State University, and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty at Bloomfield College. He served as Vice Provost for Graduate Studies, Dean of the School of Science, and Professor of Biology at Monmouth University. He received his B.S. in Biology from Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey) and a Ph.D. in Anatomy and Cell Biology from the University of Virginia. He has taught a wide range of courses including biotechnology, endocrinology, genetics, and cell and molecular biology. Dr. Palladino is the recipient of several awards for research and teaching including the 2023 Distinguished Service Award from the American Society of Andrology (ASA), the 2005 Distinguished Teacher Award from Monmouth University, and the 2005 Caring Heart Award from the New Jersey Association for Biomedical Research. In 2009 Dr. Palladino received the Young Andrologist Award from the American Society of Andrology (ASA) which recognizes contributions to the field of andrology by a member of the ASA under 45 years of age. In 2024 Innovation+ recognized him as an INNOVATE 100 leader in New Jersey for his contributions to STEM education, leadership, and service.

He was part of the senior leadership team that developed a historic partnership, merging a private institution Bloomfield College, the only 4-year institution in New Jersey designated as a Predominantly Black Institution (PBI), Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and Minority Serving Institution (MSI), with Montclair State University a R2 doctoral institution and the second largest public university in New Jersey. Under his leadership Academic Affairs secured over $9M in external funding for student success initiatives.

At Monmouth University, he oversaw strategic planning at the school and university levels. As Vice Provost he led a campus-wide effort to create more than 75 new accelerated, undergraduate to graduate dual-degree pairings, the Bachelor’s Plus Master’s Program, to meet employer market demand, at lower cost and shorter completion. He was responsible for programmatic expansion at the Graduate Center, a health sciences campus, where he led a partnership with Monmouth Medical Center of the RWJBHealth system to design a state-of-the art $5 million ~9,000 ft² simulation mannequin center for training students and hospital residents, nurses and patients. As Dean, he led the School of Science through a period of unprecedented growth and success. The School experienced historically high enrollment, including the recruitment of international students from China, India and the Middle East. He led the planning effort for a $48M science building renovation and expansion project - the largest academic capital project in University history. Dr. Palladino significantly enhanced opportunities and support for faculty-student collaborative research and scholarship, including creation of and funding for the Summer Research Program (SRP), which annually supported 65-95 students and ~24 faculty for a 12-week student-faculty collaborative research experience. Significantly increased fundraising to record levels through annual, planned, and major gifts including new sponsored scholarships, three new endowed scholarships, funding for facilities, and the SRP. Raised $885,000 in annual gifts and $953,000 from 9 major gifts (>$25K) in addition to successfully completed a $5M Challenge Grant for the Urban Coast Institute, one of the largest gifts in MU history, which raised >$6M, and funded the first endowed faculty position in the School.

For 20 years he directed a laboratory of undergraduate students involved in research on molecular mechanisms involved in innate immunity of male reproductive organs and genes involved in oxygen homeostasis and ischemic injury of the testis. During this time, he served as a research mentor for more than 75 students. His research has been funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Baystate Medical Center, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, the U.S. Department of Labor, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck, and the NJ Sea Grant College Program. Dr. Palladino is actively involved in many scientific, education, and community organizations serving on executive and advisory boards, editorial boards, and is a reviewer for several research and education journals, and regional and national grant review panels. He is a Past President of the American Society of Andrology, and currently chairs the society’s Awards Committee, and he is a former Councilor, Chair and Executive Board member for the Council on Undergraduate research.

Dr. Palladino is the co-author of Introduction to Biotechnology 4/e the leading undergraduate textbook in the field and used at over100 institutions throughout the United States, Australia, Canada, China, Germany, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Singapore, and the U.K. Introduction to Biotechnology has been translated in Chinese, German, Korean, Spanish and Taiwanese and is the leading textbook worldwide in undergraduate biotechnology education. He is also on the co-author team of W.S. Klug, and D.J. Killian for two leading undergraduate textbooks in genetics, Concepts of Genetics and Essential of Genetics. Published by Pearson, collectively these textbooks have helped educate over 750,000 students globally.