{"id":22029,"date":"2025-11-13T16:05:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T21:05:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/?p=22029"},"modified":"2025-11-13T16:29:41","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T21:29:41","slug":"the-view-from-here-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/the-view-from-here-8\/","title":{"rendered":"The View from Here"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Born to Run” Turns 50<\/h3>\n\n\n

In September, Monmouth University hosted a multiday celebration of “Born to Run,” the album that cemented Bruce Springsteen’s place in rock-and-roll history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organized by the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music, the weekend brought together fans, scholars, and a who\u2019s who of Springsteen collaborators, including current and former bandmates, Columbia Records insiders, producers, photographers, and managers, for a mix of stories, laughs, and rare glimpses behind the scenes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The centerpiece event featured Springsteen alongside longtime collaborators Jon Landau, Mike Appel, and Jimmy Iovine, plus E Street Band members Garry Tallent, Stevie Van Zandt, Max Weinberg, and Roy Bittan in conversation with Archives Executive Director Bob Santelli \u201973, \u201914HN. The day ended on an unforgettable note, when Springsteen and the E Street Band, joined by original players David Sancious and Ernest \u201cBoom\u201d Carter, took the stage for surprise performances of \u201cThunder Road\u201d and \u201cBorn to Run.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other highlights included screenings of rare studio footage hosted by filmmaker Thom Zimny and walking tours of Springsteen\u2019s old Long Branch neighborhood. An exhibit of Eric Meola\u2019s iconic album-cover photography remains on view in Rechnitz Hall\u2019s DiMattio Gallery through Dec. 18.<\/p>\n\n\n

Best. Class. Ever.<\/h3>\n\n\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Monmouth\u2019s Class of 2029 arrived with record-breaking stats: a 3.67 GPA, 1225 SAT, and the largest Honors School cohort in University history. It\u2019s also the most inclusive, with more than half identifying as first generation and\/or low income. Proof that at Monmouth, excellence and access aren\u2019t just buzzwords\u2014they\u2019re reality.<\/p>\n\n\n

Quick Hits<\/h3>\n\n\n

A Little Help From Their Friends<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the \u201cMiss O\u2019Dell\u201d documentary needed a Beatles-inspired track, the folks from Monmouth\u2019s music industry program said, \u201cLet it be … us.\u201d Students, faculty, and alumni, led by Specialist Professor George Wurzbach, wrote and recorded \u201cCome Back,\u201d an homage to \u201cGet Back\u201d that plays over the film\u2019s animated rooftop finale. Pretty fab, indeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Straight A’s From Middle States<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Monmouth University aced its latest accreditation review by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, earning an eight-year reaffirmation with no requirements, no recommendations, and 12 commendations in such areas as academics, student support, and governance. In accreditation terms, that\u2019s about as close to a perfect score as it gets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Radio Love Is In The Air<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Monmouth\u2019s student-run station, WMCX 88.9 FM, hit a high note this year, landing at No. 23 on The Princeton Review\u2019s 2026 list of Best College Radio Stations. The recognition, based on student voting, reflects the station\u2019s mix of new-music spotlights, live shows, and political debates, said adviser and Associate Professor Aaron Furgason \u201992.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"An<\/figure>

Gruden Goes Blue (and White)<\/h3>\n\n\n

Super Bowl\u2013winning coach Jon Gruden has turned unboxing football swag into a social-media sport of its own, and this fall, Monmouth made the highlight reel.<\/a> In a video viewed by more than half a million fans, Gruden unpacked a stash of Hawks gear (shipped in a box hand-painted by men\u2019s basketball player Quinn Peters), sang the team\u2019s praises, and gave Monmouth football a surprise viral spotlight. Chalk up another W for the Hawks.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From Bruce Springsteen to standout rankings, here\u2019s what\u2019s making noise around campus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":22032,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"image_focus":"{\"x\":64,\"y\":38}","hide_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[67],"class_list":["post-22029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-currents","tag-bruce-springsteen"],"thumbnail":"\"\"","catString":"Currents","issue":"Fall\/Winter 2025","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22029","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22029"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22029\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22089,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22029\/revisions\/22089"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}