{"id":2214,"date":"2025-11-03T22:35:53","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T22:35:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shp.rutgers.edu\/annual-report\/?page_id=2214"},"modified":"2025-12-09T18:19:37","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T18:19:37","slug":"rutgers-alumna-becomes-brigadier-general","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/shp.rutgers.edu\/community-impact-report\/rutgers-alumna-becomes-brigadier-general\/","title":{"rendered":"Rutgers Alumna Becomes Brigadier General"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Alumna
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Cindy Saladin-Muhammad holds several singular distinctions. She serves as deputy commanding general of the 807th Medical Command and was recently promoted to brigadier general in the U.S., one of only a handful of African American women to attain that rank in the medical field of the military.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Saladin-Muhammad NCAS\u201991, SHP\u201991, her husband, Sayyed Muhammad, who was in Army Special Operations, and her son, Air Force Tech Sergeant Reshard Saladin, have a combined 75 years of U.S. military service.<\/p>

In addition, she is a Six Sigma master black belt and a resiliency coach and has held leadership positions in an international pharmaceutical corporation.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u201cRutgers University had a significant impact on my career and my life,\u201d she says. \u201cThe university\u2019s diverse academic programs, emphasis on critical thinking, and commitment to community engagement gave me a strong foundation for pursuing my career goals in the private and military sectors.\u201d<\/p>

All these achievements began with her desire to be a toxicologist, a dream she realized after earning two Rutgers bachelor\u2019s degrees\u2014one in clinical laboratory sciences from Rutgers University\u2013Newark and one in toxicology from Rutgers School of Health Professions (SHP).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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After graduating from high school in Newark, New Jersey, she joined the Army in 1984, which gave her opportunities to travel and learn. She enlisted as a private, intending to complete her initial entry obligation of four years and perhaps be promoted once or twice.<\/p>

\u201cMy goal was to obtain funding to further my studies after high school,\u201d she says. \u201cI never imagined a day I would be a brigadier general.\u201d<\/p>

Her four years in the Army positioned her with a \u201cless than traditional start\u201d to college life, but she was ready for the challenge. Rutgers offered her an affordable, close-to-home opportunity to earn a degree in toxicology while working and being near her family.<\/p>

\u201cI knew at quite a young age I wanted to be a toxicologist, and I knew Rutgers offered toxicology,\u201d she says. \u201cThe added benefit was that this outstanding school was minutes from where I lived in New Jersey. I needed help from my family to complete school, so being close to home was critical.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Giving Back to Rutgers<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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After traveling the globe to lead military operations, she sits at Rutgers, not in a classroom, but in a boardroom with her fellow Rutgers University Alumni Association (RUAA) board members, poised to offer her knowledge and expertise.<\/p>

\u201cI have not always been able to give back to Rutgers\u2014my heart always wanted to, but life always got in the way,\u201d Saladin-Muhammad says. \u201cServing on the board has allowed me to pay it forward.<\/p>

Networking and mentoring have been instrumental to my career, and the networking, engagement, and mentorship opportunities available via my involvement with RUAA can be invaluable in shaping a successful career for others.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alumna Becomes Brigadier General Cindy Saladin-Muhammad holds several singular distinctions. She serves as deputy commanding general of the 807th Medical Command and was recently promoted to brigadier general in the U.S., one of only a handful of African American women to attain that rank in the medical field of the military. Saladin-Muhammad NCAS\u201991, SHP\u201991, her<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_header_footer","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2214","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shp.rutgers.edu\/community-impact-report\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shp.rutgers.edu\/community-impact-report\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shp.rutgers.edu\/community-impact-report\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shp.rutgers.edu\/community-impact-report\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shp.rutgers.edu\/community-impact-report\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2214"}],"version-history":[{"count":46,"href":"https:\/\/shp.rutgers.edu\/community-impact-report\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2214\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4239,"href":"https:\/\/shp.rutgers.edu\/community-impact-report\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2214\/revisions\/4239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shp.rutgers.edu\/community-impact-report\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}