Meet Don Cresitello, '06

Morristown, N.J., Mayor says a college degree is key in the bid for public office.

Second acts don’t faze Don Cresitello.

For him, the real hurdle is how he will fill the void previously occupied by his course work now that he’s earned his bachelors degree. To most busy adults, this new found free time is a relief, but that’s not the way he sees it.

“I’ve been seriously searching for my next academic undertaking, and I am considering taking my newly minted Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree in public administration from Thomas Edison State College to law school,” he said.

Cresitello has more than 42 years of management and real estate development experience.  For the past 27 years, he has served as a Morristown, N.J. councilman and alderman, and previously held the post of mayor from 1978 to 1981. By his estimation, a college degree is necessary in the bid for public office.

 “With the backgrounds of each candidate being so thoroughly scrutinized during a mayoral race, a lot of attention can be called to the difference in the level of education between one candidate and another,” said Cresitello, who completed his degree in 2006.

He used transfer credits, testing, and demonstrated college-level knowledge he acquired outside of the classroom through the Prior Learning Assessment program in order to complete his degree.

 “Anyone who has the discipline to stay focused can work through Thomas Edison State College’s courses in the way that’s most convenient for them,” said Cresitello.