Honorary Degree Recipients
JAMES DOUGLAS AXELROD
Doctor of Humane Letters (DHL)
Jim Axelrod served as a member of the Bloomfield College Board of Trustees from 2015-2021. He is the chief investigative and senior national correspondent for CBS News, reporting for CBS MORNINGS, the CBS EVENING NEWS, CBS SUNDAY MORNING and other CBS News broadcasts and platforms.
While at CBS News, Jim has covered a broad range of domestic and international stories, notably the war in Iraq and the American invasion of Afghanistan. In 2003, Axelrod was the first television journalist to report live from Baghdad’s Saddam International Airport immediately after it fell to U.S. troops.
Axelrod’s investigative journalism has been honored with a Peabody Award for his series on West Virginia’s opioid addiction crisis, a George Polk Award for his work exposing a multibillion-dollar compounding pharmacy fraud, an Edward R. Murrow award for his reporting on the genetic testing industry. He was also part of the CBS News team honored with a 2010 duPont-Columbia Silver Baton for “CBS Reports: Children of the Recession.” Axelrod also won Emmy awards in 2002, 2014, 2016 and 2022.
Born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Axelrod holds a B.A from Cornell University and an M.A. from Brown University. He and his wife, Christina, have three children, and live in Montclair, New Jersey.
ASSEMBLYWOMAN MILA M. JASEY
Doctor of Laws (LL.D.)
Assemblywoman Mila M. Jasey is a Deputy Speaker serving her eighth term in the New Jersey Legislature representing the 27th Legislative District, consisting of 14 towns in Essex and Morris Counties. She serves as Chair of the Assembly Higher Education Committee, Vice-Chair of Education, Co-Chair of the Joint Committee on the Public Schools and a Member of the Aging and Senior Services Committee.
Jasey has seen her legislation signed into law by four Governors, and has been a leading advocate on issues including higher education accessibility and affordability, education from Pre-K through college and career, women’s health and reproductive freedom of choice, sensible gun safety, affordable housing and environmental justice.
A graduate of Barnard College and Pace University School of Nursing, Jasey is a former public health nurse who provided comprehensive services and preventive care to families in underserved communities. Married to Neil N. Jasey, they are the parents of three children and seven grandchildren.
CONGRESSWOMAN MIKIE SHERRILL
Doctor of Laws (LL.D.)
After graduating from the United States Naval Academy, Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill spent almost 10 years on active duty in the United States Navy as a Sea King helicopter pilot and Russian policy officer.
Sherrill attended law school after leaving the Navy, earning a degree from Georgetown University. She worked as a lawyer and eventually joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey serving as the Outreach and Re-entry Coordinator and as a federal prosecutor.
Sherrill proudly represents New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District. She currently serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party.