Local officials are praising Gov. Chris Christie’s recent nomination of David Hespe, Burlington County College President, to serve as New Jersey Education Commissioner
Local officials are praising Gov. Chris Christie’s recent nomination of David Hespe, Burlington County College President, to serve as New Jersey Education Commissioner.
In a press release, BCC Board of Trustees Chairman George Nyikita said the nomination spoke volumes about Mr. Hespe’s leadership.
”This is a proud day for President Hespe and our entire college. On behalf of the board, I thank President Hespe for his dedicated service and leadership to the college and wish him well in his service to the state.”
Mr. Nyikita noted the board will develop a plan to determine college leadership both in the interim transitory period as well as the long-term future.
”The college is blessed with a deep breadth of talent through the faculty and administration, which will be a great asset during this transition to ensure we advance our shared mission of providing high-quality and affordable education to the students and communities of Burlington County,” he said.
The nomination of Mr. Hespe, who previous served as education commissioner during the Christine Todd Whitman administration and chief of staff at the Department of Education during Gov. Christie’s first term, was also praised by State Sen. Diane Allen (R-7).
”David’s a topnotch selection whose extensive experience and passion for education are hard to match,” Sen. Allen said in a press release.
”I have had the privilege of working very closely with David over the years both in his past roles as commissioner and interim superintendent in Willingboro and more recently as president of BCC,” she added. “David’s proven to be an experienced leader who cares deeply about students and is willing to fight for their interests. We need someone who is going to speak for the children of New Jersey as commissioner and David has proven time after time he will do just that.”
According to a press release, Mr. Hespe holds a bachelor of arts degree from Rutgers University as well as a law degree from Rutgers-Newark.
He worked as a law clerk at the Mercer County Superior Court and then joined a private law firm before entering public service in 1989 as an associate counsel at the Office of Legislative Services.
Later, Mr. Hespe went on to join Gov. Whitman’s administration, where he began as an assistant counsel in the Governor’s Office and later served as the assistant education commissioner, the first assistant attorney general and education commissioner.

