Paterson: Bangladeshi candidate makes mayoral history, university ties India
Paterson is witnessing a historic chapter in its Bangladeshi-American community as Mohammed Akhtaruzzaman becomes the first person of Bangladeshi heritage to seek the city's mayoral office, while William Paterson University has deepened its India ties through a formal academic partnership giving Delhi students a pathway to a New Jersey degree.
Akhtaruzzaman becomes first Bangladeshi American mayoral candidate
Mohammed Akhtaruzzaman is making political history in Paterson, New Jersey as the first Bangladeshi American to run for mayor of the city. Akhtaruzzaman has previous experience as a civic groundbreaker: in 2012 he became the first Bangladeshi American elected to the Paterson City Council, winning the 2nd Ward seat in a result widely interpreted at the time as reflecting the growing electoral strength of the city's Bangladeshi voters. That 2012 victory, fourteen years before his current mayoral campaign, signalled that the Bangladeshi community had reached a level of civic participation sufficient to place one of its own in elected office. His 2026 run for mayor represents a further escalation of that political ascent, carrying the Bangladeshi-American community's ambitions to the highest elected position in a city of well over a hundred thousand residents. Paterson is home to one of the most prominent Bangladeshi communities on the eastern seaboard, and Akhtaruzzaman's campaign has drawn attention as both a local political development and a generational marker showing how immigrant communities in New Jersey have moved from new arrivals to credible political contenders within a matter of decades. The outcome of the mayoral race will carry implications not only for the Bangladeshi community but for the broader shape of civic leadership in a city long defined by its demographic diversity. [6]
William Paterson University seals MOU with Delhi's IP University
William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey has signed a memorandum of understanding with Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, known as IP University, in Delhi, India, creating a formal academic partnership that opens structured pathways for students on both sides. The agreement was finalised through a virtual signing ceremony and establishes a 2+2 bachelor's degree pathway under which IP University students complete their first two years of undergraduate study in Delhi through a curriculum developed jointly by faculty from both institutions. In their third and fourth years, students transfer to William Paterson's campus in Wayne to complete their degree under the full university programme. University President Richard J. Helldobler described the agreement as an extension of William Paterson's global reach and pointed to the existing record of Indian students at the institution as evidence of the likely success of the new pathway. He said the agreement would enrich the campus experience for all students while better preparing graduates for careers in an increasingly interconnected world. The MOU formalises a relationship that began building in February 2025, when Helldobler and Vice President for Enrollment Management George Kacenga travelled to Delhi to meet IP University's senior leadership. [2]
IP University brings Padma Shri leadership and 93,000 students
IP University, the Delhi institution at the centre of the new academic agreement with William Paterson, brings considerable institutional scale and prestige to the partnership. Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University is one of the largest public universities in northern India, enrolling more than 93,000 students across a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programmes. The university is situated in India's national capital and serves as a major higher education provider for the Delhi region and beyond. Leading IP University is Vice Chancellor Mahesh Verma, a recipient of the Padma Shri, among the highest civilian honours India confers, awarded in recognition of distinguished service. Verma participated in the virtual ceremony that formalised the MOU with William Paterson and had previously hosted Helldobler and Kacenga during their February 2025 visit to the Delhi campus. The partnership is intended to give IP University students access to a North American university education while allowing William Paterson to deepen its connections to one of India's most prominent public institutions. The scale of IP University, with student enrolment that exceeds many entire American university systems, suggests the 2+2 pathway could generate significant student movement between Paterson and Delhi in the years ahead, potentially expanding into broader research and faculty exchange collaboration as the relationship matures. [2]
Sources: [6] northjersey.com · [2] Insider NJ