Townsend Appointed to Lead Alumni, External Relations Efforts

Gregory Townsend — an accomplished professional with deep experience in the higher education and government sectors — was named assistant vice president for Alumni and External Relations in May and executive director and executive secretary of the Stevens Alumni Association in October. Townsend, who joined Stevens in 2021, served as assistant vice president of Corporate, Government and Community Relations prior to his current role.

He will oversee alumni engagement as well as corporate, government and community relations, to strengthen coordination across Stevens’ external partnerships and enhance the university’s ability to engage alumni and partners.

“I’m excited to bring alumni engagement and external relations closer together to increase our collaboration and further enrich the alumni experience,” he says. “With partners across campus, we’re focused on creating more meaningful opportunities for alumni to engage with each other, with students and faculty, and across industries and communities that Stevens serves.”

Prior to joining Stevens, Townsend worked as a special adviser to the president of Drew University on government and industry relations, led Drew’s Career Center and worked with the alumni relations team to build mentorship pipelines to Drew students. Before that, he was chief of staff to the commissioner at the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development and he previously worked in the New Jersey Governor’s Office in a variety of roles, rising to senior policy adviser on topics including labor and workforce development, transportation and energy.

Townsend earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and French from Drew University and a master’s in diplomacy and international relations from Seton Hall University.

SAA honorees, from left: Ronald Castro ’01, Wayne Monsees ’71 M.Eng. ’72 MMS ’78, SAA President Michael Cahill ’15 M.Eng. ’15, Sean Dirscherl ’16 M.Eng. ’16, Stevens professor Don Lombardi, Megan Petuskey ’16 MBA ’23, Hailey Marie Tanner ’21.

Seven Decades of Alumni Reunite for Alumni Weekend

Seven decades of alumni — more than 1,000 guests overall — returned to Castle Point in June to mark class reunions and celebrate Stevens friendships and pride during Red and Gray Days 2026, the annual Alumni Weekend.

The celebration kicked off with virtual events earlier in the week, including a fireside chat with President Nariman Farvardin and Stevens Alumni Association (SAA) President Michael F. Cahill ’15 M.Eng. ’15.

This year also marked the SAA’s 150th anniversary. As part of the celebration, alumni explored archival displays featuring artifacts, yearbooks and photographs spanning 150 years of Stevens history.

Matt Hunt ’17, who served on the console in Mission Control during Artemis II, led a well-attended DuckTalk presentation on the teamwork behind the NASA mission.

Reunions were among the weekend’s signature traditions, with the Class of 1976 celebrating their 50th reunion, alongside alumni marking milestone reunions from the 1960s to the 2020s. Delta Tau Delta fraternity’s Rho Delt Wall of Achievement reception honored architect William Orr Ludlow, Class of 1892, and featured a special tribute honoring the legacy of John Dalton ’60, who passed away earlier this year.

Additional alumni and a much-admired faculty member were also honored. Wayne R. Monsees ’71 M.Eng. ’72 MMS ’78 received the Stevens Alumni Award for his extraordinary service to Stevens, while Professor Don Lombardi received the SAA Outstanding Teacher Award. Receiving the Harold R. Fee Alumni Achievement Award for their service to the university and SAA were Ronald Castro ’01, Sean Dirscherl ’16 M.Eng. ’16, Megan Petuskey ’16 MBA ’23 and Hailey Marie Tanner ’21.