New Jersey City University

New Jersey City University (NJCU) is a public liberal arts university in Jersey City, New Jersey. Originally chartered in 1927, New Jersey City University consists of the NJCU School of Business, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Education, and College of Professional Studies. NJCU enrolls over 8,500 students.

New Jersey City University
Former names
New Jersey State Normal School at Jersey City
New Jersey State Teachers College at Jersey City
Jersey City State College
MottoIneamus Ad Discendum Exeamus Ad Merendum
Motto in English
"Enter to Learn, Exit to Serve"
TypePublic, Liberal Arts
Established1927
EndowmentUS$ 12.5 million[1]
PresidentSue Henderson, Ph.D
Undergraduates6,800
Postgraduates2,350
Other students
510 (continuing education)
Location
Jersey City
,
New Jersey
,
United States
CampusUrban, 46 acres
ColorsGreen and Gold          
AthleticsNCAA Division III – NJAC
NicknameGothic Knights
MascotGothic Knights
Websitewww.njcu.edu

History
  • 1927: The New Jersey State Normal School at Jersey City was chartered. The institution was built to accommodate 1,000 students and an eight-room demonstration school in its one building, Hepburn Hall, on 10 acres (40,000 m2) on what was then Hudson Boulevard.
  • 1935: The name was changed to New Jersey State Teachers College at Jersey City. The institution was authorized to offer a four-year teacher education program and award the bachelor of science degree in education.
  • 1936: A degree program in health education and nursing was initiated in cooperation with the Jersey City Medical Center for the training of school nurses.
  • 1958: New Jersey State Teachers College at Jersey City became Jersey City State College and was authorized to award the bachelor of arts degree.
  • 1959: The institution began to offer the master of arts in elementary education.
  • 1968: Jersey City State College became a multipurpose institution, authorized to develop a liberal arts program and to enlarge teacher preparation programs.
  • 1985: The institution was awarded a $5.7 million Governor's Challenge Grant for an expanded Cooperative Education Program, which would serve all academic majors.
  • 1998: The New Jersey Commission on Higher Education approved a petition submitted by the JCSC Board of Trustees requesting that the institution be granted university status and renamed New Jersey City University. The university was restructured into three colleges of Arts and Sciences, Education, and Professional Studies.
  • 2003: NJCU joined with the City of Jersey City, the Jersey City Board of Education, and New Jersey Transit to collaborate on the Jersey City Bayfront Plan. New Jersey City University West Campus Redevelopment Plan is a part of this project and NJCU is a major player in this University-Community Partnership.
  • 2012: After 19 years, NJCU President Carlos Hernandez retired. Under his tenure, three new buildings were erected and, in 1998, the school became a university.
  • 2013: On September 20, NJCU inaugurated Dr. Sue Henderson to be the 12th president of New Jersey City University. She is the first woman in the post.

Academics
University rankings
National
U.S. News & World Report[2] NR
Washington Monthly[3] NR

NJCU is organized into three colleges offering 41 undergraduate study and 27 graduate degree programs. The largest and most popular programs of study at NJCU are Early Childhood Education, and Music. In addition, the NJCU Fire Science program is the only university-based bachelor's degree fire science program in the State of New Jersey. NJCU has started a program called "Professional Security" that helps students get into organizations such as the FBI, NSA, and CIA. The majority of students that graduate from NJCU have become teachers from grades k-12.

The NJCU Media Arts Department is the home base and sponsor of the annual Black Maria Film and Video Festival, an international juried competition and traveling exhibition which recognizes and supports independent film, video and emerging media.[4]

A. Harry Moore School

NJCU has overseen operations of the A. Harry Moore School for students with special needs since 1963.[5][6][7][8]

Campus

Main campus
Hepburn Hall
Karnoutsos Hall
West Side Avenue

The university's main campus is situated on a landscaped campus in an urban community located at 2039 Kennedy Boulevard Jersey City. The University's administrative center is Hepburn Hall.[9] Designed by Guilbert and Betelle and completed in 1930, the Gothic structure serves as the symbol of the university and features in school publications as well as the university's athletic nickname.

The NJCU Frank J. Guarini Library is available to students as well as staff for learning materials such as books, DVDs, CDs, computer lab, quiet study rooms and access to electronic databases. Since the Fall 2014 semester, despite some objections by librarians, there has been a Dunkin Donuts franchise operating out of the first floor of the library.[10]

A six-story Arts and Sciences building named Karnoutsos Hall was designed by architect Michael Graves.[11] It is known by students as the Crayola building, because of the colors which make up the building's exterior, and as the K building. It is located in the center of the campus. The 77,000-square-foot (7,200 m2) building, houses 14 classrooms, 10 computer labs, faculty offices for nine departments, and the Office of the Dean of Arts and Sciences.

Other academic buildings include Rossey Hall, (music, dance, and theatre; sociology and anthropology; environmental and earth science; nursing; and educational counseling; as well as numerous classrooms), the recently renovated Science Building (natural sciences), the Professional Studies Building (education departments; national security/security studies; criminal justice); Fries Hall (media arts); and Grossnickle Hall. The Visual Arts Building on Culver Avenue features a Maya Lin sculpture in the entrance garden area.[12]

West campus - University Place

There are renovated buildings on West Side Avenue that are part of the school, including the West Side Theatre, which is used for theatrical productions and community events.[13] Another building houses the Business Development Incubator program.[14] NJCU is in the midst of a major expansion, which will include a new 21-acre west campus, situated between West Side Avenue and New Jersey Route 440. The first building, a student residence, opened in 2016. The new campus will include a performing arts center, student housing, a college of education, and a business school.[15] Construction has begun on the new "West Campus" between West Side Avenue and Bayfront on Route 440 that will more than double the campus's total area. The West Campus will include academic buildings, residences, retail spaces, parking, and a University Promenade.[16][17] The center of will be the Center for Music Theater Dance. [18] and the Joffrey Ballet School.[19][20]

Athletic complex

The university's Thomas M. Gerrity Athletic Complex is located less than a mile southwest of the main campus at near Droyers Point on Newark Bay.[21] In 2017, the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer entered into a facility usage partnership with the University to upgrade the natural grass soccer training field at the complex to professionally approved standards. Under the partnership, national and international teams will be allowed to train at the facility ahead of their matches at Red Bull Arena. Phase one of the project began in early June 2017 and involved regrading, aeration and reseeding of the training facility. The project, which is still ongoing, will also involve overall maintenance of the training facility.[22]

NJCU School of Business

In September 2015, the NJCU School of Business, a state-of-the art, custom-designed facility opened at Harborside Plaza directly on the Jersey City waterfront. The two-story facility features 18 instructional spaces, two data science centers, a simulated trading floor, an auditorium, offices, study areas, a student lounge, and a large waterfront conference center with views of Lower Manhattan.

Campus living

The university operates four residence halls: Co-op Hall, a corridor-style facility with common area bathrooms and study lounges for freshmen and first year dorm students; Vodra Hall, a traditional dormitory with shared bathrooms between rooms for upper-class students and special needs individuals; and 2040 University Apartments, a residence for seniors and others of age 21 and up. The fourth is a new residence hall on the west campus.

Another accommodation for students is the Knight Rider, for dorm students only. It is accessible between 5:00 pm and 1:00 am. Between these hours students may call if they need to be taken to stores on Route 440, Danforth Plaza, Hudson Mall, or the Light Rail station. Several clubs are available for students to join, including Biology Club, Chess Club, and Salsa Club.

Transportation
The West Campus includes parking facility under construction

NJCU has a large population of commuter students, currently 97% of undergraduates.

The university provides a shuttle service which runs on three routes to fit the transportation needs of students and faculty. The first route transports car commuting students and faculty from West Campus Parking Lot #3, located on Westside Avenue, to the Professional Studies Building on the main campus. The second route operates similar to the first route but makes additional stops and pickups at the Athletics & Fitness Center and Visual Arts building. The final route of the shuttle service provides a shuttle drop off at Journal Square (JSQ) that can only be boarded from the Professional Studies Building location.[23]

Athletics

NJCU is a member of Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

The John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (JMAC) is the home of the Gothic Knight basketball and volleyball teams and the focal point for the NJCU athletic department and recreation and intramural activities. The 72,000-square-foot (6,700 m2) JMAC opened in the fall of 1998, giving the university one of the finest indoor recreational facilities in the area. The building features a 2,000-seat basketball and volleyball arena, an exercise and fitness center, a 25-yard swimming and diving pool with adjacent sauna, a tenth-of-a-mile elevated jogging track, a multi-purpose room for aerobics and classes, and locker room space for teams, students, faculty and staff.

New Jersey City University sponsors thirteen intercollegiate athletic programs in baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's wrestling, women's bowling, men's and women's cross country, men's golf, men's and women's soccer, softball, women's tennis and men's and women's volleyball.

The women's bowling team has qualified for all seven NCAA National Collegiate Championship events since the first one was held in 2004. The Gothic Knights have advanced to the national semifinals four times, always coming in even-numbered years: 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010, finishing third nationally in 2004 and 2008. NJCU hosted the 2010 NCAA Championship.

The men's basketball team is the oldest program, having reached the Final Four in 1986 and 1992. The team has appeared in 20 NCAA Tournaments, most recently in 2017 and 2018.

The baseball team now, under head coach Jerry Smith, along with assistant coaches Nick Cesare, Raj Subramanian and Andrew Otterberg have built the program into a contender.

Starting in July 2013, cheerleading tryouts were held for students. NJCU had a cheering team for the students to be a part of for the school year of 2013–2014. Women's tennis will begin as a club program in fall 2014 before being elevated to varsity status, as the men's golf team previously did in 2009.

Greek life

Greek organizations offered at New Jersey City University include:

Student newspaper

The Gothic Times is New Jersey City University's official student newspaper. It was reintroduced in 2001 and prints monthly issues, excluding June, July and August. It features stories about campus happenings as well as articles on lifestyle, sports, arts and entertainment. It also features an editorial and opinion/advice section.

In the early 2000s, the newspaper gained statewide recognition, winning a number of awards from the New Jersey Collegiate Press Association, culminating with a second-place finish in the category of General Excellence.

Faculty and alumni
  • NJCU faculty
  • NJCU alumni

See also

References
  1. "Overview of New Jersey City University". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  2. "Best Colleges 2020: National University Rankings". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  3. "2019 National University Rankings". Washington Monthly. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  4. "Black Maria Film & Video Festival". Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  5. https://njcu.libguides.com/jerseycitypastandpresent/aharrymoore
  6. "A. Harry Moore School | New Jersey City University". www.njcu.edu.
  7. Villanova, Patrick (October 17, 2019). "NJCU gives public first look at plan for A. Harry Moore School's future". nj.
  8. Zeitlinger, Ron (September 13, 2019). "A. Harry Moore students to be relocated to state regional day school". nj.
  9. "Hepburn Hall" Archived 2009-04-29 at the Wayback Machine. New Jersey City University. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  10. Hernandez, Diana C. (April 24, 2014). "NJCU Running on Dunkin'?". The Gothic Times.
  11. "Karnoutsos Hall" Archived 2010-01-24 at the Wayback Machine. New Jersey City University. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  12. Visual Arts building" Archived 2016-03-08 at the Wayback Machine. New Jersey City University. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  13. "The West Side Theatre" Archived 2009-10-06 at the Wayback Machine. New Jersey City University. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  14. "Business Development Incubator (BDI)" Archived 2006-06-19 at the Wayback Machine. New Jersey City University. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  15. "NJCU breaks ground for new $50 million dormitory at 'West Campus'". NJ.com. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  16. Zinsli, Christopher (March 5, 2006). "Want to cook? Be a nurse? Start a tech firm?". The Hudson Reporter.
  17. "Jersey City building boom coming to NJCU campus with $350M plan". NJ.com. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  18. Elamroussi, Aya (24 February 2019). "Centerpiece of NJCU development will now rise 10 stories and include twice as much housing". nj.com.
  19. "Eat, sleep … and dance: Joffrey Ballet School coming to Jersey City's University Place". ROI-NJ. 20 February 2019.
  20. Digs, Jersey (18 February 2019). "University Performing Arts Center Gets Height Increase, Doubles Unit Count".
  21. "Thomas M. Gerrity Athletic Complex" Archived 2009-03-27 at the Wayback Machine. New Jersey City University. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  22. Thor, Ira (July 12, 2017). "NJCU Athletics, New York Red Bulls Partner to Upgrade and Utilize NJCU Soccer Training Facility New Field to be Practice Site for National, International Teams". NJCU. New Jersey City University Athletics. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  23. Transportation Services, New Jersey City University. Accessed December 24, 2019.
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