Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a
public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
land-grant research university
A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kno ...
consisting of four campuses in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was affiliated with the
Dutch Reformed Church
The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family and ...
. It is the eighth-oldest college in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, the second-oldest in New Jersey (after
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
), and one of the nine U.S.
colonial colleges
The colonial colleges are nine institutions of higher education chartered in the Thirteen Colonies before the United States of America became a sovereign nation after the American Revolution. These nine have long been considered together, notably ...
that were chartered before the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
.
[Stoeckel, Althea]
"Presidents, professors, and politics: the colonial colleges and the American revolution"
, ''Conspectus of History'' (1976) 1(3):45–56. In 1825, Queen's College was renamed Rutgers College in honor of Colonel
Henry Rutgers, whose substantial gift to the school had stabilized its finances during a period of uncertainty. For most of its existence, Rutgers was a
private
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
liberal arts college
A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on undergraduate study in liberal arts and sciences. Such colleges aim to impart a broad general knowledge and develop general intellectual capac ...
but it has evolved into a
coeducation
Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...
al
public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
research university
A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kno ...
after being designated The State University of New Jersey by the
New Jersey Legislature
The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the ...
via laws enacted in 1945 and 1956.
[State of New Jersey. New Jersey Statutes Annotated 18A:65–1 et seq. enacted by P.L. 1945, ch. 49, p. 115; P.L. 1956, ch. 61.]
Rutgers today has four distinct campuses;
Rutgers University–New Brunswick (including grounds in adjacent
Piscataway),
Rutgers University–Newark
Rutgers University–Newark is one of three regional campuses of Rutgers University, New Jersey's State University. It is located in Newark. Rutgers, founded in 1766 in New Brunswick, is the eighth oldest college in the United States and a me ...
,
Rutgers University–Camden, and
Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences. The university has additional facilities elsewhere in the state, including oceanographic research facilities at the New Jersey shore.
Rutgers is a
land-grant,
sea-grant, and
space-grant university, as well as the largest
university in the state. Instruction is offered by 9,000
faculty members in 175 academic departments to over 45,000 undergraduate students and more than 20,000 graduate and professional students.
The university is accredited by the
Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (Middle States Association or MSA) was a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit association that performed peer evaluation and regional educational accreditation, accreditation of public and priva ...
and is a member of the
Big Ten Academic Alliance, the
Association of American Universities[Association of American Universitie]
Association of American Universities
Retrieved August 6, 2006 and the
Universities Research Association
The Universities Research Association is a non-profit association of more than 90 research universities, primarily but not exclusively in the United States. It has members also in Japan, Italy, and in the United Kingdon. It was founded in 1965 a ...
.
History
Colonial period
![Rutgers Shield](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Rutgers_Shield.png)
Two decades after the College of New Jersey (now known as
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
) was established in 1746 by the New Light Presbyterians,
ministers
Minister may refer to:
* Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric
** Minister (Catholic Church)
* Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department)
** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...
of the
Dutch Reformed Church
The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family and ...
, seeking autonomy in ecclesiastical affairs in the American colonies, sought to establish a college to train those who wanted to become
ministers
Minister may refer to:
* Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric
** Minister (Catholic Church)
* Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department)
** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...
within the church.
[And then there was Rutgers...](_blank)
in ''The Daily Targum'' November 8, 2002. Retrieved August 12, 2006.[A Historical Sketch of Rutgers University](_blank)
by Thomas J. Frusciano, University Archivist. Retrieved August 12, 2006.
![Old Queens, New Brunswick, NJ - looking north, 2014](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Old_Queens%2C_New_Brunswick%2C_NJ_-_looking_north%2C_2014.jpg)
Through several years of effort by the Rev.
Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen (1691–1747) and Rev.
Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh
Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh (22 February 1735/6 – 30 October 1790) was an American Dutch Reformed clergyman, colonial and state legislator, and educator. Hardenbergh was a founder of Queen's College—now Rutgers, The State University of New J ...
(1736–1790), later the college's first president, Queen's College received its charter on November 10, 1766, from New Jersey's last royal governor,
William Franklin
William Franklin (22 February 1730 – 17 November 1813) was an American-born attorney, soldier, politician, and colonial administrator. He was the acknowledged illegitimate son of Benjamin Franklin. William Franklin was the last colonial Gov ...
(1730–1813), the illegitimate son of Founding Father
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...
.
The original charter established the college under the corporate name ''the trustees of Queen's College, in New-Jersey'', named in honor of
Queen Charlotte (1744–1818), and created both the college and the Queen's College Grammar School, intended to be a
preparatory school affiliated and governed by the college.
The Grammar School, today the private
Rutgers Preparatory School
Rutgers Preparatory School (also known as Rutgers Prep or RPS) is a private, coeducational, college preparatory day school established in 1766. The school educates students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade, located on a campus along ...
, was a part of the college community until 1959.
New Brunswick was chosen as the location over Hackensack because the New Brunswick Dutch had the support of the
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
population, making the royal charter easier to obtain.
The original purpose of Queen's College was to "educate the youth in language, liberal, the divinity, and useful arts and sciences" and for the training of future ministers for the Dutch Reformed Church.
The college admitted its first students in 1771—a single sophomore and a handful of first-year students taught by a lone instructor—and granted its first degree in 1774, to
Matthew Leydt Matthew Leydt (1755–1783) was the first graduate of Queen's College (now Rutgers University) in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Matthew was the son of Syntje Slegt (1729–1763) (also spelled Tryntje Slecht or Sleight) and the Rev. Johannes Leydt (171 ...
.
Despite the religious nature of the early college, the first classes were held at a
tavern
A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that h ...
called the Sign of the Red Lion. When the Revolutionary War broke out and taverns were suspected by the British as being hotbeds of rebel activity, the college abandoned the tavern and held classes in private homes.
Like many colleges founded in the U.S. during this time, Rutgers benefited from slave labor and funds derived from purchasing and selling slaves. Research undertaken at the university in the 2010s began to prominently uncover and document these connections, including the university's foundation on land taken from the indigenous
Lenape
The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...
people.
Financial troubles and a benefactor
![Col henry rutgers](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Col_henry_rutgers.JPG)
In its early years, due to a lack of funds, Queen's College was closed for two extended periods. Early trustees considered merging the college with the College of New Jersey, in Princeton (the measure failed by one vote) and later considered relocating to New York City.
In 1808, after raising $12,000, the college temporarily reopened and broke ground on a building of its own, called "
Old Queens
Old Queens is the oldest extant building at Rutgers University and is the symbolic heart of the university's campus in New Brunswick in Middlesex County, New Jersey in the United States. Rutgers, the eighth-oldest college in the United States, wa ...
," designed by architect
John McComb, Jr.
John McComb Jr. (1763 – 1853) was an American architect who designed many landmarks in the 18th and 19th centuries. Between 1790 and 1825, McComb was New York city's leading architect.
John McComb Jr. was born on October 17, 1763 in New Yo ...
[Paths to Historic Rutgers: A Self-Guided Tour](_blank)
, at Rutgers University. Retrieved August 9, 2006. The college's third president, the Rev.
Ira Condict
Ira Condict (February 21, 1764 – June 1, 1811) was an American Presbyterian and Dutch Reformed minister who served as the third president of Queen's College (now Rutgers University) in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
A 1784 graduate of the Colleg ...
, laid the cornerstone on April 27, 1809. Shortly after, the
New Brunswick Theological Seminary, founded in 1784, relocated from
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, to New Brunswick, and shared facilities with Queen's College (and the
Queen's College Grammar School, as all three institutions were then overseen by the
Reformed Church in America
The Reformed Church in America (RCA) is a Mainline Protestant, mainline Reformed tradition, Reformed Protestant Christian denomination, denomination in Canada and the United States. It has about 152,317 members. From its beginning in 1628 unti ...
).
During those formative years, all three institutions fit into Old Queens. In 1830, the Queen's College Grammar School moved across the street, and in 1856, the seminary relocated to a seven-acre (28,000 m
2) tract less than one-half mile (800 m) away.
After several years of closure resulting from an economic depression after the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
, Queen's College reopened in 1825 and was renamed "Rutgers College" in honor of
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
hero Colonel
Henry Rutgers (1745–1830). According to the board of trustees, Colonel Rutgers was honored because he epitomized
Christian values. A year after the school was renamed, it received two donations from its namesake: a $200 bell still hanging from the cupola of Old Queen's and a $5,000 bond () which placed the college on sound financial footing.
Land-grant college
Rutgers College became the
land-grant college of New Jersey in 1864 under the
Morrill Act of 1862
The Morrill Land-Grant Acts are United States statutes that allowed for the creation of land-grant colleges in U.S. states using the proceeds from sales of federally-owned land, often obtained from indigenous tribes through treaty, cession, or se ...
, resulting in the establishment of the Rutgers Scientific School, featuring departments of
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
,
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
, and
chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
.
The Rutgers Scientific School would expand over the years to grow into the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (1880) and divide into the
College of Engineering
Engineering education is the activity of teaching knowledge and principles to the professional practice of engineering. It includes an initial education (bachelor's and/or master's degree), and any advanced education and specializations that ...
(1914) and the
College of Agriculture (1921).
Rutgers created the
New Jersey College for Women in 1918, and the School of Education in 1924.
With the development of graduate education, and the continued expansion of the institution, the collection of schools became Rutgers University in 1924.
Rutgers College continued as a liberal arts college within the university. Later,
University College
In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...
(1945) was founded to serve part-time, commuting students and
Livingston College (1969) was created by the Rutgers Trustees, ensuring that the interests of ethnically diverse New Jersey students were met.
State university
Rutgers was designated the state university of New Jersey by acts of the
New Jersey Legislature
The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the ...
in 1945 and 1956.
[N.J.S.A.](_blank)
18A:65–1 et seq. (Public Law 1956, chapter 61) repealing and succeeding P.L. 1945, c.49, p.115. Retrieved August 8, 2006. Although Rutgers thus became a public university, it still retains—as the successor to the private college founded and chartered in 1766—some important private rights and protections from unilateral state efforts to change its fundamental character and mission.
The newly-designated state university absorbed the University of Newark (1935) in 1946 and then the College of South Jersey and South Jersey Law School, in 1950. These two institutions became
Rutgers University–Newark
Rutgers University–Newark is one of three regional campuses of Rutgers University, New Jersey's State University. It is located in Newark. Rutgers, founded in 1766 in New Brunswick, is the eighth oldest college in the United States and a me ...
and
Rutgers University–Camden, respectively. On September 10, 1970, after much debate, the board of governors voted to admit women into Rutgers College.
There were setbacks in the growth of the university. In 1967, the Rutgers Physics Department had a Centers of Excellence Grant from the NSF which allowed the physics department to hire several faculty each year. These faculty were to be paid by the grant for three years, but after that time any faculty hired with the associate or full professor designation would become tenured. The governor and the chancellor forced Rutgers to lose this grant by rejecting the condition that tenure be granted.
In 1970, the newly formed Rutgers Medical School hired major faculty members from other institutions. In 1971, the governor's office separated Rutgers Medical School from Rutgers University and made it part of
New Jersey College of Medicine and Dentistry, and many faculty left the medical school, including the dean of the medical school, Dr. Dewitt Stetten, who later became the director of the National Institutes of Health. As a result of the separation of the medical school from Rutgers University, graduate PhD programs that had been started in the medical center were lost, and students had to seek other institutions to finish their degrees. After the dissolution of the University of Medicine and Dentistry in 2013, the medical school
again became part of the university.
1982–present
![Rutgers University statue and tree in April College Campus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Rutgers_University_statue_and_tree_in_April_College_Campus.JPG)
Prior to 1982, separate liberal arts faculties existed in the several separate "
residential colleges" (Rutgers, Douglass, Livingston, University, and Cook colleges) at Rutgers–New Brunswick.
In 1982, under president
Edward J. Bloustein
Edward Jerome Bloustein (January 20, 1925 – December 9, 1989) was the 17th President of Rutgers University serving from 1971 to 1989.
Biography
He was born in New York City, and he graduated from James Monroe High School in the Bronx in 19 ...
, the liberal arts faculties of these five institutions were centralized into one college, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, which itself had no students. The separate residential colleges persisted for students, and while instructors for classes were now drawn from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, separate standards for admission, good standing, and graduation still continued for students, depending on which residential college they were enrolled in.
In 2007, Rutgers New Brunswick, Douglass, Livingston, and University Colleges, along with the Faculty of Arts and Sciences were merged into the new "
School of Arts and Sciences" with one set of admissions criteria, curriculum, and graduation requirements. At this time, the liberal arts components of Cook College were absorbed into the School of Arts and Sciences as well, while the other aspects of that college remained, but as the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. These changes in 2007 ended the 241-year history of Rutgers College as a distinct institution.
Students at the
2011 Rutgers tuition protests fought against rising education costs and diminished state subsidies. Campus groups (including the Rutgers Student Union, the Rutgers One Coalition and the Rutgers University Student Assembly (RUSA), supported by New Jersey United Students (NJUS), mobilized to keep the increase in annual student financial obligation to a minimum through marches, sit-ins, letters to administration officials and forums.
In 2011, there was an attempt by then New Jersey Governor
Chris Christie and members of the legislature to merge Rutgers-Camden into
Rowan University
Rowan University is a public research university in Glassboro, New Jersey, with a medical campus in Stratford and medical and academic campuses in Camden. It was founded in 1923 as Glassboro Normal School on a site donated by 107 residents.
...
, it ultimately was rejected in part due to several on campus protests and pushback from Camden faculty, students, and alumni.
In 2013, most of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey was integrated with Rutgers University and, along with several existing Rutgers units, was reformed as
Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences.
This merger attached the
New Jersey Medical School
New Jersey Medical School (NJMS)—also known as Rutgers New Jersey Medical School—is a medical school of Rutgers University, a public research university in Newark, New Jersey. It has been part of the Rutgers Division of Biomedical and Health ...
and
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School to Rutgers University.
On June 20, 2012, the outgoing president of Rutgers University,
Richard L. McCormick
Richard Levis McCormick (born December 26, 1947) is a historian, professor and president emeritus of Rutgers University.
Early life
The son of Richard Patrick McCormick, a Rutgers professor and administrator, and Katheryne C. Levis, a Universit ...
, announced that Rutgers will "integrate five acres along George Street between Seminary Place and Bishop Place into the College Avenue Campus." Most of the block had been occupied by the
New Brunswick Theological Seminary. Rutgers agreed to rebuild the seminary in exchange for the land it gave up.
In 2013, Rutgers changed part of its alma mater, "
On the Banks of the Old Raritan." Where the lyrics had stated, "My father sent me to old Rutgers, and resolved that I should be a man," now they state, "From far and near we came to Rutgers, and resolved to learn all that we can." The alma mater for the Camden campus "On the Banks of the Old Delaware" are lyrically similar aside from the river name.
Rutgers celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2016. On May 15, President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
became the first sitting president to speak at the university's commencement. The university held a variety of celebrations, academic programs, and commemorative events which culminated on the 250th anniversary date, November 10, 2016. Rutgers invited multiple notable alumni from around the world to the celebration.
Steven Van Zandt was the commencement speaker the following year and received an honorary doctorate.
In November 2016, Rutgers released research findings that revealed "an untold history of some of the institution's founders as
slave
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
owners and the displacement of the
Native Americans who once occupied land that was later transferred to the college."
In January 2020,
Jonathan Holloway made history as the first African American and person of color to be named president of
Rutgers.
Organization and administration
University president
Since 1785, twenty-one men have served as the institution's president, beginning with the Reverend
Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh
Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh (22 February 1735/6 – 30 October 1790) was an American Dutch Reformed clergyman, colonial and state legislator, and educator. Hardenbergh was a founder of Queen's College—now Rutgers, The State University of New J ...
, a Dutch Reformed minister who was responsible for establishing the college.
[Frusciano, Thomas J. "Leadership on the Banks: Rutgers' Presidents, 1766–2004", in ''The Journal of the Rutgers University Libraries'' LIII(1) (June 1991).] Before 1930, most of the university's presidents were clergy affiliated with Christian denominations in the
Reformed tradition (either
Dutch or
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
Reformed, or
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
).
[Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey]
Rutgers Leaders, Rutgers History: Past Presidents
. Retrieved August 17, 2013. Two presidents were alumni of Rutgers College—the Rev.
William H. S. Demarest (Class of 1883) and
Philip Milledoler Brett
Philip Milledoler Brett, Sr. (February 17, 1871 – July 2, 1960) was the thirteenth President of Rutgers University, serving in an acting capacity from 1930 to 1931.
Biography
He was born in Newark, New Jersey and was the great-great-grandson o ...
(Class of 1892).
The president serves in an ''
ex officio
An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...
'' capacity as a presiding officer within the university's 59-member board of trustees and its eleven-member board of governors, and is appointed by these boards to oversee day-to-day operations of the university across its campuses. He is charged with implementing "board policies with the help and advice of senior administrators and other members of the university community." The president is responsible only to those two governing boards—there is no oversight by state officials. Frequently, the president also occupies a professorship in his academic discipline and engages in instructing students.
The current president is Dr.
Jonathan Holloway who assumed the role on July 1, 2020.
Governing boards
Governance at Rutgers University rests with a board of trustees consisting of 41 members, and a board of governors consisting of 15 voting members: 8 appointed by the
Governor of New Jersey
The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official res ...
and 7 chosen by and from among the board of trustees.
[ accessed June 20, 2010.] The trustees constitute chiefly an advisory body to the board of governors and are the fiduciary overseers of the property and assets of the university that existed before the institution became the State University of New Jersey in 1945. The initial reluctance of the trustees (still acting as a private corporate body) to cede control of certain business affairs to the state government for direction and oversight caused the state to establish the board of governors in 1956. Today, the board of governors maintains much of the corporate control of the university.
The members of the board of trustees are voted upon by different constituencies or appointed. "Two faculty and two students are elected by the University Senate as nonvoting representatives. The 59 voting members are chosen in the following way as mandated by state law: 20 charter members (of whom at least three shall be women), 16 alumni members nominated by the nominating committee of the board of trustees, and five public members appointed by the governor of the state with confirmation by the New Jersey State Senate.
Affiliations
*
Association of American Universities
*
Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (Middle States Association or MSA) was a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit association that performed peer evaluation and regional educational accreditation, accreditation of public and priva ...
*
Big Ten Academic Alliance
*
Universities Research Association
The Universities Research Association is a non-profit association of more than 90 research universities, primarily but not exclusively in the United States. It has members also in Japan, Italy, and in the United Kingdon. It was founded in 1965 a ...
*
Association of Public and Land-grant Universities
The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) is a research, policy, and advocacy organization of public research universities, land-grant institutions, state university systems, and higher education organizations. It has member ca ...
*
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
Locations and divisions
Rutgers University has three campuses in New Jersey. The New Brunswick Campus, located in
New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
and adjacent
Piscataway, is the largest campus of the university. The Newark Campus in
Newark
Newark most commonly refers to:
* Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States
* Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area
Newark may also refer to:
Places Canada
* Niagara-on-the ...
and the Camden Campus in
Camden
Camden may refer to:
People
* Camden (surname), a surname of English origin
* Camden Joy (born 1964), American writer
* Camden Toy (born 1957), American actor
Places Australia
* Camden, New South Wales
* Camden, Rosehill, a heritage res ...
are located in the northern and southern parts of the state, respectively.
[Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey — Department of University Relations]
Rutgers Editorial Style Guide
(revised July 1, 2013), page 5 ff. Combined, these campuses comprise 33 degree-granting schools and colleges, offering undergraduate, graduate and professional levels of study.
The university is centrally administered from New Brunswick, although chancellors at the
Newark
Newark most commonly refers to:
* Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States
* Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area
Newark may also refer to:
Places Canada
* Niagara-on-the ...
and
Camden
Camden may refer to:
People
* Camden (surname), a surname of English origin
* Camden Joy (born 1964), American writer
* Camden Toy (born 1957), American actor
Places Australia
* Camden, New South Wales
* Camden, Rosehill, a heritage res ...
campuses hold significant autonomy for some academic issues.
Rutgers–New Brunswick
![Honors College, Rutgers–New Brunswick](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Honors_College%2C_Rutgers%E2%80%93New_Brunswick.jpg)
The New Brunswick Campus (or Rutgers–New Brunswick) is the largest campus and the site of the original Rutgers College. Spread across six municipalities in
Middlesex County, New Jersey
Middlesex County is located in central New Jersey, United States, extending inland from the Raritan Valley region to the northern portion of the Jersey Shore. As of the 2020 United States Census, the county's population was enumerated at 863,1 ...
, it lies chiefly in the City of New Brunswick and adjacent Piscataway, and is composed of five smaller campuses and a few buildings in downtown New Brunswick. The historic College Avenue Campus is close to downtown New Brunswick and includes the seat of the university,
Old Queens
Old Queens is the oldest extant building at Rutgers University and is the symbolic heart of the university's campus in New Brunswick in Middlesex County, New Jersey in the United States. Rutgers, the eighth-oldest college in the United States, wa ...
and other nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century buildings that constitute the
Queens Campus
The Queens Campus or Old Queens Campus is a historic section of the College Avenue Campus of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in the United States.
The Queens Campus spans one city block on a hilltop over ...
and
Voorhees Mall
Voorhees Mall is a large grassy area with stately shade trees on a block (sometimes known as "Voorhees Campus") of about 28 acres (0.11 km²) located on the College Avenue Campus of Rutgers University near downtown New Brunswick, New Jersey. ...
. Its proximity to New Brunswick's train station and numerous food vendors located downtown, in addition to a large amount of off-campus housing and fraternity and sorority houses make this a popular weekend destination. Across the city, Douglass Campus and Cook Campus are intertwined with each other and are often referred to collectively as the Cook/Douglass Campus. Cook Campus has extensive farms and woods that reach into North Brunswick and East Brunswick. Separated by the Raritan River are
Busch Campus, in Piscataway, and Livingston Campus, also mainly in Piscataway but including remote sections of land extending into Edison and Highland Park. The Busch Campus is noted as the home of Rutgers' highly ranked Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, as well as the golf course and football stadium. The Livingston campus is home to
Jersey Mike's Arena (formerly the Rutgers Athletic Center
AC, a trapezoidal building which is home for many sports teams, notably the men's basketball team. Additionally, this campus has undergone many renovations and is regarded as the most "modern" campus. The campus entrance is delineated by the all-glass
Rutgers Business School
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...
building known as "100 Rock" (because of the building's Piscataway address, 100 Rockafeller Road). From this building's fifth floor lounge, one can see the distant skyline of New York City on many clear days. Featuring (arguably) the best dining hall and top notch housing, Livingston attracts many students who may want a quieter city-life experience than the one on College Avenue.
Rutgers Campus Buses
Rutgers Campus Buses are a zero-fare bus service used by students at Rutgers University campuses. It is the second-largest bus service in New Jersey after NJ Transit, and one of the largest university bus systems in the United States. Service is ...
transport students between the various campuses.
As of 2010, the New Brunswick-Piscataway campuses include 19 undergraduate, graduate and professional schools, including the
School of Arts and Sciences, the
School of Communication and Information, the
Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
The Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy of Rutgers University (The Bloustein School) serves as a center for the theory and practice of urban planning, public policy and public health/health administration scholarship. The sc ...
, the
School of Engineering
Engineering education is the activity of teaching knowledge and principles to the professional practice of engineering. It includes an initial education (bachelor's and/or master's degree), and any advanced education and specializations that ...
, the
School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, the
Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy
The Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy (EMSOP) is the pharmacy school of Rutgers University. It was founded in 1892 and merged with Rutgers University in 1927 as the Rutgers College of Pharmacy. In 1971, the school moved to its current location. In 2 ...
, the Graduate School, the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, the Graduate School of Education, the
School of Management and Labor Relations,
Mason Gross School of the Arts, the College of Nursing, the
Rutgers Business School
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...
and the School of Social Work. , 40,434 students (31,593 undergraduates and 8,841 graduate students) were enrolled at the New Brunswick-Piscataway campus.
The New Brunswick-Piscataway campus includes a Business School building on the Livingston Campus.
Rutgers–Newark
The Newark Campus (or Rutgers–Newark) consists of eight undergraduate, graduate and professional schools, including: Newark College of Arts and Sciences, University College, School of Criminal Justice, Graduate School, School of Nursing,
School of Public Affairs and Administration,
Rutgers Business School
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...
and the Newark location of the
Rutgers Law School. , 7,666 undergraduates and 4,345 graduate students (total 12,011) are enrolled at the Newark campus.
Originally the University of Newark, the campus became Rutgers-Newark in 1945.
Rutgers–Camden
![Ru-camden-campus walk](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Ru-camden-campus_walk.jpg)
The Camden Campus (or Rutgers–Camden) consists of six undergraduate, graduate and professional schools, including: Camden College of Arts and Sciences, University College, Graduate School,
Rutgers School of Business – Camden
The Rutgers School of Business in Camden teaches accounting, management, organizational behavior, marketing, and related arts of the business world in Camden, New Jersey, United States, not too far from Adventure Aquarium, the River Line and th ...
, Rutgers School of Nursing - Camden, and the Camden location of the
Rutgers Law School. The schools are located in the Cooper's Grant and Central Waterfront neighborhoods of Camden. , 4,708 undergraduates and 1,635 graduate students (total 6,343) are enrolled at the Camden campus.
The campus was founded as the College of South Jersey and South Jersey Law School in the 1920s, and became part of Rutgers in 1950.
Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences
The Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS) is a division of the university that serves as an umbrella organization for schools, centers, and institutes from Rutgers University and the old
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) was a state-run health sciences institution of New Jersey, United States.
It was founded as the Seton Hall College of Medicine and Dentistry in 1954, and by the 1980s was both a major ...
. The organization was incorporated into the university following the 2013 merger of Rutgers and the UMDNJ. While its various facilities are spread across several locations statewide, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences is considered a "campus" for certain organizational purposes, such as the appointment of a separate chancellor.
RBHS comprises nine schools and other research centers and institutes including; Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, New Jersey Medical School, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School,
School of Nursing
Nurse education consists of the theoretical and practical training provided to nurses with the purpose to prepare them for their duties as nursing care professionals. This education is provided to student nurses by experienced nurses and other med ...
, School of Dental Medicine, School of Health Related Professions, the School of Public Health, Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, Environmental and the Occupational Health Sciences Institute, Brain Health Institute, and the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research. The programs are offered at different location sites across New Jersey in New Brunswick, Newark, Blackwood,
Stratford and Scotch Plains.
Rutgers-Online
As of 2015, Rutgers offered a total of 11 fully online degree programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Online degree programs at Rutgers must meet the same academic expectations, in terms of both teaching and learning outcomes, as traditional on-campus programs. As of March 2020, a majority of courses are being conducted through remote instruction due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Off-campus
Rutgers offers classes at several off-campus sites in affiliation with community colleges and other state colleges throughout New Jersey. These partnerships are designed to enable students to achieve a seamless transfer to Rutgers, and to take all of their Rutgers classes in a select number of the most popular majors at the community college campus. The collaborative effort provides access to Rutgers faculty teaching Rutgers courses, at a convenient location, but it is also one of the few programs that cater exclusively to the non-traditional student population. Rutgers' current partners include
Atlantic Cape,
Brookdale Brookdale is the name of many settlements, institutions, and businesses in English-speaking countries.
Cities and towns
* Brookdale, California, an unincorporated town in Santa Cruz County
* Brookdale, Kansas
* Brookdale, Manitoba, an unincorporat ...
,
Mercer
Mercer may refer to:
Business
* Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925)
* Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City
* Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader ...
,
Morris,
Camden
Camden may refer to:
People
* Camden (surname), a surname of English origin
* Camden Joy (born 1964), American writer
* Camden Toy (born 1957), American actor
Places Australia
* Camden, New South Wales
* Camden, Rosehill, a heritage res ...
, and
Raritan Valley
Central Jersey is the central region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The designation of Central New Jersey is a distinct administrative division, administrative toponymy, toponym.
Geographic area and descriptions
While the State of New Jerse ...
community colleges.
Academics
The university offers more than 100 distinct bachelor, 100 master, and 80 doctoral and professional degree programs across 175 academic departments, 29 degree-granting schools and colleges, 16 of which offer graduate programs of study.
It is accredited by the
Commission on Higher Education of the
Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (Middle States Association or MSA) was a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit association that performed peer evaluation and regional educational accreditation, accreditation of public and priva ...
(1921), and in 1989, became a member of the
Association of American Universities, an organization of the 62 leading research universities in North America.
[Association of American Universities](_blank)
AAU. Retrieved August 6, 2006 Rutgers–New Brunswick is
classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".
Rutgers–Newark and
Rutgers–Camden are classified by the same organization as "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity."
Admissions
Undergraduate
''
U.S. News & World Report'' considers the New Brunswick campus of Rutgers University to be a "more selective" school in terms of the rigor of its admissions processes. For the Class of 2025 (enrolling fall 2021), the New Brunswick campus received 43,161 applications and accepted 29,419 (68.2%).
The number enrolling was 7,105; the yield rate (the percentage of accepted students who enroll) was 24.2%.
The freshman
retention rate
The term "retention rate" is used in a variety of fields, including marketing, investing, education, in the workplace and in clinical trials. Maintaining retention in each of these fields often results in a positive outcome for the overall organiza ...
is 94%, with 83.8% going on to graduate within six years.
Of the 45% of the incoming freshman class who submitted
SAT
The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schola ...
scores; the middle 50 percent Composite scores were 1240-1470.
Of the 7% of enrolled freshmen in 2021 who submitted
ACT scores; the middle 50 percent Composite score was between 27 and 33.
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey is a college-sponsor of the National Merit Scholarship Program and sponsored 21 Merit Scholarship awards in 2020. In the 2020–2021 academic year, 29 freshman students were
National Merit Scholars
The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and university scholarships administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), a privately funded, not-for-profit organizati ...
.
Financial aid
As a state university, Rutgers charges two separate rates for tuition and fees depending on an enrolled student's residency. The ''Office of Institutional Research and Academic Planning'' estimates that costs in-state student of attending Rutgers would amount to $25,566 for an undergraduate living on-campus and $30,069 for a graduate student. For an out-of-state student, the costs rise to $38,228 and $39,069 respectively.
As of the 2012–2013 academic school year, the cost of attendance for in-state students is $13,073, $26,393 for out-of-state students and $11,412 for Room and Board.
In the 2010–2011 academic year, undergraduate students at Rutgers, through a combination of federal (53.5%), state (23.6%), university (18.1%), and private (4.8%) scholarship, loans, and grants, received $492,260,845 of
financial aid. 81.4% of all undergraduates, or 34,473 students, received some form of financial aid. During the same period, graduate students, through a combination of federal (61.9%), state (1.8%), university (34.5%), and private (1.9%) scholarship, loans, and grants received $182,384,256 of financial aid. 81.5% of all graduate students, or 11,852 students received some form of financial aid.
In 2007, the university's office for Enrollment Management launched the Rutgers Future Scholars Program as an initiative to help 7th graders from low-income families achieve academic success and be the first in their families to go to college. The program targets students from the school systems of Rutgers's hometowns, New Brunswick/Piscataway, Newark, and Camden. Once admitted, the students receive mentoring and college prep courses each summer leading up to the year of their college applications. If admitted to the university, they are given a full tuition scholarship for four years of undergraduate study. The program has been very successful and currently admits as many as 200 new 7th graders each year with the most of the original 200 now attending the university as undergraduates.
Rankings
In the 2021 ''
U.S. News & World Report'' rankings of universities in the United States, the New Brunswick campus of Rutgers is tied for 63rd among national universities overall and ranked tied for 23rd among public universities.
''U.S. News & World Report'' ranked the Camden campus 148th among national universities, and 18th in top performers for social mobility. The same ranking placed Rutgers-New Brunswick in the top 25 among all U.S. universities for the following graduate school programs:
Library Science
Library science (often termed library studies, bibliothecography, and library economy) is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, and ...
(7th),
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
(15th),
Fine Arts
In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...
(23rd),
History
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
(21st) (with the subspecialties of
Women's History
Women's history is the study of the role that women have played in history and the methods required to do so. It includes the study of the history of the growth of woman's rights throughout recorded history, personal achievement over a period of ...
and
African-American History both ranked 1st),
Social Work
Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...
(17th), and
Mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
(22nd). U.S. News ranked Rutgers-Camden 58th for graduate nursing programs, and 83rd among graduate public policy programs. Rutgers University-New Brunswick has consistently ranked 2nd for
Philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
according the
QS World University Rankings
''QS World University Rankings'' is an annual publication of university rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). The QS system comprises three parts: the global overall ranking, the subject rankings (which name the world's top universities for the ...
and the
Philosophy Gourmet Report. QS also ranks Rutgers as number 42, nationally. The Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) has Rutgers-New Brunswick ranked 29th nationally and 50th globally in 2020–2021.
QS Top Universities ranked Rutgers-New Brunswick 264 in the world in 2022. ''U.S. News & World Report'' ranking placed Rutgers #130 in Best Global Universities with #47
in Agricultural Sciences, #45 in Arts and Humanities (tie), #61 in Mathematics, #66 in Cell Biology, #63 in Economics and Business, #99 in Computer Science, #37 in Pharmacology and Toxicology, and #23 in Food Science and Technology. The RBS Master of Quantitative Finance (M.Q.F.) program, and the Master of Mathematical Finance (M.S.M.F) program in the department of mathematics, are ranked 7th in the United States.
Under the New Jersey Medical and Health Sciences Education Restructuring Act of 2012, the
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) was a state-run health sciences institution of New Jersey, United States.
It was founded as the Seton Hall College of Medicine and Dentistry in 1954, and by the 1980s was both a major ...
was dissolved. Most of its schools, including
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School,
New Jersey Medical School
New Jersey Medical School (NJMS)—also known as Rutgers New Jersey Medical School—is a medical school of Rutgers University, a public research university in Newark, New Jersey. It has been part of the Rutgers Division of Biomedical and Health ...
, and
New Jersey Dental School, were merged into the new Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, formed in 2013.
Study abroad
Rutgers study abroad program has been offering opportunities for international study for over 50 years. Rutgers global offers more than 180 study and service-learning programs to more than 50 countries for all majors. These programs range from short term summer programs to long term semester programs. Often scholarships and financial support is offered to students who wish to study abroad. Rutgers also hosts students from universities around the globe.
Libraries
![Rutgers University Art Library](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Rutgers_University_Art_Library.JPG)
The Rutgers University Libraries (RUL) system consists of twenty-six libraries, centers and reading rooms located on the university's four campuses. Housing a collection that includes 4,383,848 volumes (print and electronic), 4,605,896 microforms, as well as a wide array of electronic indexes and abstracts, full-text electronic journals, and research guides, Rutgers University Libraries ranks among the nation's top research libraries.
[Library Facts and Figures](_blank)
Accessed September 15, 2014 The
American Library Association
The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...
ranks the Rutgers University Library system as the 44th largest library in the United States in terms of volumes held.
The
Archibald S. Alexander Library
Archibald S. Alexander Library is the oldest and main university library for Rutgers University–New Brunswick. It houses an extensive humanities and social science collection in
New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
, known to many students as "Club Alex," is the oldest and the largest library of the university, and houses an extensive
humanities
Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...
and
social science
Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soc ...
collection.
[Archibald S. Alexander Library Collection Description](_blank)
Accessed January 10, 2007 It also supports the work of faculty and staff at four professional schools: the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, the Graduate School of Education, the Graduate School of Social Work, and the School of Communication and Information. Alexander Library is also a
Federal Depository Library
The Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) is a government program created to make U.S. federal government publications available to the public at no cost. As of April 2021, there are 1,114 depository libraries in the United States and its ter ...
, maintaining a large collection of government documents, which contains United States, New Jersey, foreign, and international government publications.
The ''
Paul Robeson Library'' in
Camden
Camden may refer to:
People
* Camden (surname), a surname of English origin
* Camden Joy (born 1964), American writer
* Camden Toy (born 1957), American actor
Places Australia
* Camden, New South Wales
* Camden, Rosehill, a heritage res ...
, serves Rutgers affiliates as well as the Camden campuses of
Rowan University
Rowan University is a public research university in Glassboro, New Jersey, with a medical campus in Stratford and medical and academic campuses in Camden. It was founded in 1923 as Glassboro Normal School on a site donated by 107 residents.
...
and
Camden County College with a broad collection of volumes, and also houses an archive including the papers of poet
Nick Virgilio
Nicholas Anthony Virgilio (June 28, 1928 – January 3, 1989) was an internationally recognized haiku poet who is credited with helping to popularize the Japanese style of poetry in the United States.
Early life
Virgilio was born in Camden, New ...
. The Dana Library is the main research library for the Newark campus, and is also home to the
Institute of Jazz Studies, one of the world's largest collections of jazz archives and research. The ''Library of Science and Medicine'' (LSM) on the Busch Campus in
Piscataway houses the university's collection in
behavioral
Behavior (American English) or behaviour (British English) is the range of actions and mannerisms made by individuals, organisms, systems or artificial entities in some environment. These systems can include other systems or organisms as well ...
,
biological
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary in ...
,
earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
, and
pharmaceutical sciences and
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
. LSM also serves as a designated depository library for government publication regarding science, and owns a U.S. patent collection and patent search facility. It was officially established as the Library of Science and Medicine in July 1964 although the beginning of the development of a library for science started in 1962. The current character of LSM is a university science library also serving a medical school.
[LSM History](_blank)
accessed January 10, 2007 On the New Brunswick-Piscataway campus, in addition to Alexander Library, many individual disciplines have their own libraries, including Alcohol Studies,
Art History
Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...
,
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
,
Math
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
ematics,
Music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
, and
Physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
. ''Special Collections and University Archives'' houses the Sinclair New Jersey Collection, manuscript collection, and rare book collection, as well as the university
archives
An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located.
Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...
. Although located in the Alexander Library building,
Special Collections and University Archives actually comprises a distinct unit unto itself. Also located within the Alexander Library is the ''East Asian Library'' which holds a sizable collection of Chinese, Japanese and Korean monographs and periodicals. There are nine major libraries at the Rutgers- New Brunswick location which are the Alexander Library, Art Library, Carr Library, Chang Library, Douglass Library, Library of Science and Medicine, Math and Physics Library, School of Management and Labor Relations Library, and Special Collections & University Archives Library. Both the Newark and Camden campuses have law libraries. Individual items and collections within the Libraries can be identified using the Integrated Rutgers Information System.
Museums and collections
![Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Zimmerli_Art_Museum_at_Rutgers_University.jpg)
Rutgers oversees several museums and collections that are open to the public.
*
Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum
The Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum (known popularly as the Zimmerli Art Museum) is located on the Voorhees Mall of the campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The museum houses more than 60,000 works, including Russian and ...
, on the College Avenue Campus maintains a collection of over 60,000 works of art, focusing on Russian and
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
art, French 19th-century art and
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
19th- and 20th-century art with a concentration on early-20th-century and contemporary prints.
*
Rutgers University Geology Museum
Geology Hall (also Geological Hall) is a historic building on the Queens Campus, Rutgers University, Queens Campus of Rutgers University, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It was built from April 1871 to June 1872 to house various science classes a ...
in Geology Hall features exhibits on
geology
Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...
and
anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...
, with an emphasis on the natural history of New Jersey. The largest exhibits include a
dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
trackway from
Towaco, New Jersey
Towaco is an unincorporated community located within Montville Township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP code 07082. Its name reflects the Native American history in the area, wh ...
; a
mastodon
A mastodon ( 'breast' + 'tooth') is any proboscidean belonging to the extinct genus ''Mammut'' (family Mammutidae). Mastodons inhabited North and Central America during the late Miocene or late Pliocene up to their extinction at the end of th ...
from
Salem County
Salem County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its western boundary is formed by the Delaware River and its eastern terminus is the Delaware Memorial Bridge, which connects the county with New Castle, Delaware. Its cou ...
; and a
Ptolemaic Ptolemaic is the adjective formed from the name Ptolemy, and may refer to:
Pertaining to the Ptolemaic dynasty
* Ptolemaic dynasty, the Macedonian Greek dynasty that ruled Egypt founded in 305 BC by Ptolemy I Soter
* Ptolemaic Kingdom
Pertaining ...
era
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
ian
mummy.
*
Rutgers Gardens
Rutgers Gardens (130 acres) is the official botanic garden of Rutgers University, located on the outskirts of Cook Campus, at 112 Ryders Lane, North Brunswick, New Jersey. The grounds include 60 acres of designed beds, specialty gardens, tree and ...
, which features of horticultural, display, and
botanical gardens, as well as
arboretum
An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...
s.
* ''Stedman Art Gallery'' on the Camden campus is a collection of local, national, and international artwork and exhibits as part of the Rutgers Camden Center for the Arts.
* ''Edison Papers,'' is a collection of roughly 5 million documents related to Thomas Alva Edison. Nearly 175,000 of these documents are digitized and available to be viewed through their website
Rutgers' facilities across the four campuses include a golf course,
botanical gardens, working agricultural, horse, dairy, and
sustainable farms, a creamery, an
ecological preserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...
with multiple use trails, television and radio studios, theaters, museums, athletic facilities, helipads, a
makerspace
A hackerspace (also referred to as a hacklab, hackspace, or makerspace) is a community-operated, often "not for profit" (501(c)(3) in the United States), workspace where people with common interests, such as computers, machining, technology, sc ...
, and more. The
New Jersey Museum of Agriculture
The New Jersey Museum of Agriculture was an American agriculture museum, located in North Brunswick, New Jersey, North Brunswick, New Jersey, and focused on the evolution of agriculture in New Jersey.
The museum's exhibits included farm tools and ...
closed in 2011.
Research
![Selman Waksman NYWTS](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Selman_Waksman_NYWTS.jpg)
Rutgers is home to the Rutgers University Center for
Cognitive Science, also known as RUCCS. This research center hosts researchers in
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
,
linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
,
computer science
Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...
,
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
,
electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
, and
anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...
.
It was at Rutgers that
Selman Waksman (1888–1973) discovered several
antibiotic
An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention of ...
s, including
actinomycin,
clavacin
Patulin is an organic compound classified as a polyketide. It is a white powder soluble in acidic water and in organic solvents. It is a lactone that is heat-stable, so it is not destroyed by pasteurization or thermal denaturation.http://www.sig ...
, streptothricin, grisein,
neomycin,
fradicin,
candicidin
Candicidin is an antifungal compound obtained from ''Streptomyces griseus''. It is active against some fungi including ''Candida albicans''. Candicidin is administered intravaginally in the treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis.
This bioactive c ...
, candidin, and others. Waksman, along with graduate student
Albert Schatz (1920–2005), discovered
streptomycin—a versatile antibiotic that was to be the first applied to cure
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
. For this discovery, Waksman received the
Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1952.
Rutgers developed water-soluble sustained release polymers,
tetraploids,
robotic hands
A robotic arm is a type of mechanical arm, usually programmable, with similar functions to a human arm; the arm may be the sum total of the mechanism or may be part of a more complex robot. The links of such a manipulator are connected by joints ...
,
artificial bovine insemination, and the ceramic tiles for the
heat shield
In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is al ...
on the
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...
. In health related field, Rutgers has the Environmental & Occupational Health Science Institute (EOHSI).
Rutgers is also home to the RCSB
Protein Data bank
The Protein Data Bank (PDB) is a database for the three-dimensional structural data of large biological molecules, such as proteins and nucleic acids. The data, typically obtained by X-ray crystallography, NMR spectroscopy, or, increasingly, cry ...
, 'an information portal to Biological Macromolecular Structures' cohosted with the
San Diego Supercomputer Center. This database is the authoritative research tool for bioinformaticists using protein primary, secondary and tertiary structures worldwide.'
![Great Swamp Greenhouse photos Rutgers Tomato](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Great_Swamp_Greenhouse_photos_Rutgers_Tomato.JPG)
Rutgers is home to the Rutgers Cooperative Research & Extension office, which is run by the Agricultural and Experiment Station with the support of local government. The institution provides research & education to the local farming and agro industrial community in 19 of the 21 counties of the state and educational outreach programs offered through the
.
![Life Sciences Building, Rutgers University](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Life_Sciences_Building%2C_Rutgers_University.jpg)
Rutgers University Cell and DNA Repository (RUCDR) is the largest university based repository in the world and has received awards worth more than $57.8 million from the
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...
(NIH). One will fund genetic studies of mental disorders and the other will support investigations into the causes of digestive, liver and kidney diseases, and diabetes. RUCDR activities will enable gene discovery leading to diagnoses, treatments and, eventually, cures for these diseases. RUCDR assists researchers throughout the world by providing the highest quality biomaterials, technical consultation, and logistical support.
Rutgers–Camden is home to the nation's PhD granting Department of Childhood Studies. This department, in conjunction with the Center for Children and Childhood Studies, also on the Camden campus, conducts interdisciplinary research which combines methodologies and research practices of sociology, psychology, literature, anthropology and other disciplines into the study of childhoods internationally.
Rutgers is home to several
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...
IGERT fellowships that support interdisciplinary scientific research at the graduate-level. Highly selective fellowships are available in the following areas: Perceptual Science,
Stem Cell
In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type o ...
Science and Engineering,
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology, also shortened to nanotech, is the use of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale for industrial purposes. The earliest, widespread description of nanotechnology referred to the particular technological goal o ...
for Clean Energy, Renewable and Sustainable Fuels Solutions, and Nanopharmaceutical Engineering.
Rutgers also maintains the Office of Research Alliances that focuses on working with companies to increase engagement with the university's faculty members, staff and extensive resources on the four campuses.
Student life
Residential life
![Vorhees Chapel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Vorhees_Chapel.jpg)
Rutgers University offers a variety of housing options. On the
New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
-Piscataway campus, students are given the option of on-campus housing in both traditional
dorm
A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...
s or apartments. Freshman students, however, are allowed only a dorm, while upperclassmen have a wider array of on-campus housing choices, like apartments, but must apply for on-campus housing through the Rutgers online lottery process. Most students seeking on-campus housing will be accommodated with a space and sophomores are guaranteed housing. Many Rutgers students opt to rent apartments or houses off-campus within the city of New Brunswick. Similar setups are to be found in Rutgers–Newark and Rutgers–Camden.
![Demarest Hall front](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Demarest_Hall_front.JPG)
Rutgers University's four campuses are in the culturally-diverse, redeveloping urban areas (
Newark
Newark most commonly refers to:
* Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States
* Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area
Newark may also refer to:
Places Canada
* Niagara-on-the ...
,
Camden
Camden may refer to:
People
* Camden (surname), a surname of English origin
* Camden Joy (born 1964), American writer
* Camden Toy (born 1957), American actor
Places Australia
* Camden, New South Wales
* Camden, Rosehill, a heritage res ...
, and
New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
) with convenient access to New York City and
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
by
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
,
New Jersey Transit, as well as regional lines such as
PATCO, or by automobile. ''
U.S. News & World Report'' ranked
Rutgers–Newark the most diverse university campus in the United States. Because the area of Rutgers' New Brunswick-Piscataway campus—which is composed of several constituent colleges and professional schools—is sprawled across six
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
, the individual campuses are connected by an inter-campus bus system. The
Rutgers bus system is the second largest bus service in New Jersey, and one of the largest in the country.
Security and emergency services
Services provided by the university include
Rutgers Police, Emergency Medical Services, an emergency management office,
bus and shuttle service, inter- and intra-campus mail, and occupational and environmental health and safety.
Student organizations and activities
![Rutgers spelled out in hedge on College Ave campus New Brunswick NJ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Rutgers_spelled_out_in_hedge_on_College_Ave_campus_New_Brunswick_NJ.JPG)
Rutgers University has a student government which controls funding to student groups. The student government is made up of campus councils and professional school councils. Those councils then send representatives to the student assembly as well as the university senate. An example of these campus councils is the University College Council, which represents adult, part-time, and military veteran students.
Rutgers hosts over 700
student organizations; among the first student groups was the first
college newspaper in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. ''The Political Intelligencer and New Jersey Adviser'' began publication at Queen's College in 1783, and ceased operation in 1785.
Continuing this tradition is the university's current college newspaper, ''
The Daily Targum'', established in 1869, which is the second-oldest college newspaper published in the United States, after ''
The Dartmouth'' (1843). Both poet
Joyce Kilmer
Alfred Joyce Kilmer (December 6, 1886 – July 30, 1918) was an American writer and poet mainly remembered for a short poem titled "Trees" (1913), which was published in the collection ''Trees and Other Poems'' in 1914. Though a prolific poet who ...
and economist
Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman (; July 31, 1912 – November 16, 2006) was an American economist and statistician who received the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and the ...
served as editors. Also included are ''
The Medium'', a weekly satirical newspaper billed as Rutgers Entertainment Weekly, ''
Rutgers Centurion
''The Centurion'' is a conservative online magazine focused on Rutgers University-New Brunswick campus life.
Its motto is "veritas vos liberabit," which is Latin for " the truth shall set you free." The magazine attempts to counterbalance the p ...
'', a conservative newspaper, the ''
Rutgers University Glee Club'', a male
choral
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...
singing group established in 1872 (among the oldest in the country). Rutgers a cappella groups have routinely placed well in the
International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella
The International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA), originally the National Championship of Collegiate A Cappella ("NCCA", a play on NCAA), is an international competition that attracts hundreds of college ''a cappella'' groups each ye ...
, including 2010 when The OrphanSporks placed second in the semifinals. Governed by the Rutgers University Student Assembly and funded by student fees, students can organize groups for practically any political ideology or issue, ethnic or religious affiliation, academic subject, activity, or hobby.
![Rutgers Law School in Newark 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Rutgers_Law_School_in_Newark_2.jpg)
Rutgers University is home to chapters of
many Greek organizations, and a significant percentage of the undergraduate student body is active in Greek life. Several
fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America.
Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradu ...
maintain houses for their chapters in the area of Union Street (known familiarly as "Frat Row") in
New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
, within blocks of Rutgers' College Avenue Campus. Chapters of
Zeta Psi
Zeta Psi () is a collegiate fraternity. It was founded in June 1, 1847 at New York University. The organization now comprises fifty-three active chapters and thirty-four inactive chapters, encompassing roughly fifty thousand members, and is a f ...
and
Delta Phi organized at Rutgers as early as 1845. The Alpha Rho chapter of
Chi Psi fraternity, founded at Rutgers College in 1879, was the first fraternity at Rutgers to own a fraternity house, or "Lodge," purchased in 1887. The fraternity today still owns and occupies the same property at 114 College Avenue. Today, there are over 50 fraternities and sororities on the New Brunswick-Piscataway campus, ranging from traditional to historically
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
, Hispanic, Multiculturalism, Multicultural, and Asian people, Asian interest organizations. The New Brunswick campus of Rutgers University has a chapter of the only active co-ed pre-medical fraternity, Phi Delta Epsilon, . Greek organizations are governed by the ''Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs''. Twelve organizations maintain chapters in New Brunswick without sanction by the university's administration. Students involved in Greek Life must meet academic eligibility requirements including maintaining a cumulative 2.5 GPA, completion of 12 credits, and be a currently enrolled full-time student. Some individual organizations hold a higher GPA requirement.
Many Greek organizations hold fundraising events specific to their philanthropy. However, it's Rutgers tradition that our students participate in one of the largest student-run philanthropic events in New Jersey. All proceeds go to the non-profit organization, Embrace Kids Foundation. This foundation advocates for children with cancer and blood disorders. Dance Marathon includes over 400 dancers pledging to stay away and stand for 32 hours with the support and help of 500 volunteers. Dance Marathon 2015 collected a record-breaking $692,046.67.
In the late 19th century, the university banned fraternities because of their unusual hazing practices. This caused them to go underground as secret societies. It also sparked the interest of some students to create their own societies. Cap and Skull was founded at Rutgers before the turn of the 20th century.
Rutgers has five vocal ensembles: Voorhees Choir (the New Brunswick campus's women's ensemble), Kirkpatrick Choir (the university's most selective coed ensemble), Glee Club (New Brunswick's most esteemed male ensemble), University Choir (a larger mixed choir in New Brunswick), and the Rutgers Concert Choir (Camden's vocal ensemble of faculty and students)
In 2016, the Iota Psi chapter of Sigma Chi raised a national Greek record of $300,007 for the Children's Miracle Network with the help of seven sororities: Alpha Gamma Delta, Delta Gamma, Gamma Phi Beta, Phi Sigma Sigma, Sigma Delta Tau, Sigma Kappa, and Zeta Tau Alpha.
Traditions
The Grease Trucks are a group of truck-based food vendors located at various locations on the New Brunswick campus. They serve traditional grill fare, Middle-Eastern specialties, and are especially well known for serving "Fat Sandwiches," a sub roll containing various ingredients such as cheesesteak, burgers, pork roll, chicken fingers, French fries, mozzarella sticks, eggs, bacon, gyro meat, and marinara sauce. The Rutgers Grease Trucks were located in a designated lot for nearly two decades until August 2013. Truck owners were forced to relocate due to the construction of an $84-million student apartment complex. Three trucks remain on the College Avenue Campus, while the remaining two were moved to the Cook/Douglass Campus.
The Dance Marathon is a student-run organization that consists of a year-long series of fundraisers and culminates with the annual Marathon on April 5–6 in the College Avenue Gym. At the Marathon over 400 dancers pledge to raise funds and remain standing for 32 hours without sleeping. The 'Dancers', along with over 500 volunteers and countless visitors, are entertained by live bands, comedians, prize giveaways, games, sports, a mechanical bull, computer and internet access, various theme hours and much more. Rutgers has held this tradition since 1999 and to date has raised in excess of $1.3 million for the Embrace Kids Foundation. In the seventies the Dance Marathon raised funds for the American Cancer Society. In the Eighties it was the Rutger Cancer Research Association.
'RutgersFest was a day-long cultural event staged variously on either Livingston Campus or Busch Campus. It was designed to promote college spirit through student organization participation with activities and entertainment throughout the day, culminating with a free concert and fireworks at night. The event was free to all students and guests and was funded as part of an elected programming fee paid by all students as part of tuition. Past musical guests have included Kanye West, Everclear (band), Everclear, Sugar Ray, Guster, Goldfinger (band), Goldfinger, Ludacris, Reel Big Fish, Method Man and Redman (rapper), Redman, Fuel (band), Fuel, Third Eye Blind, Hawthorne Heights, Nas, NAS, SR-71 (band), SR-71, Ok Go, N.E.R.D and Pitbull (rapper), Pitbull. The event would feature carnival attractions such as bungee bull, bouncy boxing, moon walk, electronic basketball, a recording studio and more. Attendance for the annual event was about 40,000–50,000, topping out at an estimated 65,000 in 2004 at the event which featured Kanye West and Sugar Ray The event was staged by the Rutgers University Programming Association (RUPA), which used to be known as the Rutgers College Programming Committee (RCPC), as a year-end celebration before the start of the final examination period.
During its final year in 2011, the festival was held on Busch Campus. Invited musical guests included Yelawolf, Pitbull (rapper), Pitbull, and 3OH!3. Several violent incidents that year lead to the indefinite cancellation of the event. President Richard McCormick, in a letter to the Rutgers community, commented: "The problems that occur following RutgersFest have grown beyond our capacity to manage them, and the only responsible course of action is to cancel the event."
Rutgers Day is a campus and community celebration held annually on the Camden, New Brunswick, and Newark campuses.
Many student houses also have mountains of trash, mimicking landfills. This is a tradition started by the Delafield House.
Colors, mottos and mascots
Rutgers University's only school color is Scarlet (color), scarlet. Students had sought to make orange (colour), orange the school color, citing Rutgers' Netherlands, Dutch heritage and in reference to the Prince of Orange. The Rutgers student publication ''Targum'' (which would become the ''Daily Targum'') proposed that scarlet be adopted in May 1869, claiming that it was a striking color and because scarlet ribbon was easily obtained. During the 1869 college football season, first intercollegiate football game with Princeton University, Princeton on November 6, 1869, the players from Rutgers wore scarlet-colored turbans and handkerchiefs to distinguish them as a team from the Princeton players.
The board of trustees officially made scarlet the school color in 1900.
In its early days, Rutgers athletes were known informally as "The Scarlet" in reference to the school color, or as "Queensmen" in reference to the institution's first name, Queen's College.
In 1925, the mascot was changed to Chanticleer, a fighting rooster from the Middle Ages, medieval fable ''Reynard the Fox'' (''Le Roman de Renart'') which was used by Geoffrey Chaucer in the ''Canterbury Tales''.
At the time, the student humour magazine at Rutgers was called ''Chanticleer'', and one of its early arts editors, Ozzie Nelson (later of ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet'' fame) was quarterback of the Rutgers team from 1924 to 1926.
[Scarlet Letter 1924 (Rutgers University yearbook), Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.] The Chanticleer mascot was unveiled at a football game against Lafayette College, in which Lafayette was also introducing a new mascot, a leopard.
However, the choice of Chanticleer as a mascot was often the subject of ridicule because of its association with "being chicken." In 1955, the mascot was changed to the Scarlet Knight after a campus-wide election, beating out other contenders such as "Queensmen," the "Scarlet," the "Red Lions," the "Redmen" and the "Flying Dutchmen."
[Tradition](_blank)
at www.scarletknights.com. Published by Rutgers University Athletic Department (no further authorship information available), accessed September 10, 2006. Earlier proposed nicknames included "Pioneers" and "Cannoneers." When Harvey Harman, then coach of the football team, was asked why he supported changing the Rutgers mascot, he was quoted as saying, "Awnish You can call it the Chanticleer, you can call it a fighting cock, you can call it any damn thing you want, but everybody knows it's a chicken." Harman later is said to have bought the first "Scarlet Knight" mascot costume for the 1955 season, which was to be his final season as football coach at Rutgers.
In later years the Camden and Newark campuses adopted their own mascots, the Scarlet Raptor (Camden) and the Scarlet Raider (Newark).
Athletics
''(Note: The
Rutgers–Camden athletic teams are called the Rutgers–Camden Scarlet Raptors, Scarlet Raptors. The
Rutgers–Newark athletic teams are called the Rutgers–Newark Scarlet Raiders, Scarlet Raiders. The scarlet (color)#School colors, Scarlet Raiders and the Scarlet Raptors both compete within NCAA Division III.)''
Rutgers was among the first American institutions to engage in intercollegiate athletics, and participated in a small circle of schools that included Yale University, Columbia University and long-time rival,
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
(then called the College of New Jersey). The four schools met at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in Manhattan on October 19, 1873, to establish a set of rules governing their intercollegiate competition, and particularly to codify the new game of College football, football. Although invited, Harvard University, Harvard chose not to attend. In the early years of intercollegiate athletics, the schools that participated in these athletic events were located solely in the American Northeast. However, by the turn of the 20th century, colleges and universities across the United States began to participate.
![1882RutgersFootballTeam](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/1882RutgersFootballTeam.jpg)
Rutgers University is referred to as "the birthplace of college football" as the first College football, intercollegiate football 1869 college football season#First football game ever played, game was held on College Field between Rutgers and Princeton on November 6, 1869, in New Brunswick, New Jersey on a plot of ground behind where the present-day College Avenue Gymnasium now stands. Rutgers won the game, with a score of 6 runs to Princeton's 4.
According to Parke H. Davis, the 1869 Rutgers football team shared the national title with Princeton. (This game is believed to have been closer to soccer than to modern American football.)
![Rutgers Rowing Men's Varsity Eight](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Rutgers_Rowing_Men%27s_Varsity_Eight.png)
In 1864, rowing became the first organized sport at Rutgers. Six mile races were held on the Raritan River among six-oared boats. In 1870, Rutgers held its first intercollegiate competition, against the Lawrence Scientific School of Harvard, the then top-ranked amateur crew of the time. Since the start in 1864, Rutgers has built a strong crew program consisting of heavyweight and lightweight men. Women's crew was added to the program in 1974. Financial support of the men's crew program was discontinued by the university in 2006, though the crew continues to compete (funded entirely by alumni and private support) at a high level in the prestigious Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges conference.
The first intercollegiate athletic event at Rutgers was a baseball game on May 2, 1866, against Princeton in which they suffered a 40–2 loss.
[Rutgers Through the Years Timeline](_blank)
at Rutgers University. Retrieved August 12, 2006.
Beginning in 1866, Rutgers was unaffiliated with any formal athletic conference and thus classified as "independent" for eighty years. From 1946 to 1951, the university was a member of the Middle Three Conference, and from 1958 to 1961, was a member of the Middle Atlantic Conferences, Middle Atlantic Conference.
[Rutgers football history database](_blank)
at NationalChamps.net. Retrieved January 3, 2007. In 1978, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights became a member of the Atlantic 10 conference. In 1991, it joined the Big East Conference (1979–2013), Big East Conference for football. All sports programs at Rutgers New Brunswick subsequently became affiliated with the Big East in 1995.
The first intercollegiate competition in Ultimate (sport), Ultimate Frisbee (now called "Ultimate") was held between students from Rutgers and Princeton University, Princeton on November 6, 1972, to mark the one hundred third anniversary of the first intercollegiate football game. Rutgers won 29–27.
["Discography"](_blank)
from ''Failure Magazine''. Retrieved December 31, 2013. The Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's Basketball Team was among the "Final Four" and ended the 1976 season ranked fourth in the United States, after an 86–70 loss against the University of Michigan in the semifinals, and a 106–92 loss against UCLA in the consolation round of the 1976 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.
![High Point Solutions Stadium-Rutgers University](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/High_Point_Solutions_Stadium-Rutgers_University.jpg)
The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are members of the
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
, a collegiate athletic conference consisting of 14 colleges and universities from the Midwestern United States, Midwestern and East Coast regions of the United States. The Big Ten Conference is a member of the Bowl Championship Series. Rutgers currently fields 27 intercollegiate sports programs and is a Division I (NCAA), Division I school as sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Rutgers fields thirty teams in NCAA Division I sanctioned sports, including College football, football, baseball, basketball, Sport rowing, crew, Cross country running, cross country, fencing (sport), fencing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, track and field, Swimming (sport), swimming and Diving (sport), diving, Collegiate wrestling, wrestling, and volleyball.
The Scarlet Knights have won five Big East Conference tournament titles: men's soccer (1997), men's track & field (2005), baseball (2000, 2007), and women's basketball (2007). Several other teams have won regular season titles but failed to win the conference's championship tournament.
[ published by the Big East Athletic Conference. Retrieved August 8, 2006.]
Although the Rutgers Scarlet Knights' football team had losing seasons in 2016 and 2015 (won-lost records of 2–10 and 4–8, respectively) it achieved success previously, being invited to the Insight Bowl on December 27, 2005, in which they lost 45 to 40 against Arizona State University. This was Rutgers' first bowl appearance since the December 16, 1978, loss against Arizona State, 34–18, at the Garden State Bowl. The 2006 football season also saw Rutgers being ranked within the Top 25 teams in major college football polls. After the November 9, 2006 victory over the 3rd ranked, undefeated University of Louisville, Louisville Cardinals, Rutgers jumped up to seventh in the AP Poll, eighth in the USA Today Coaches Poll, USA Today/Coaches poll, seventh in the Harris Interactive College Football Poll, Harris Interactive Poll, and sixth in the Bowl Championship Series rankings. These were Rutgers' highest rankings in the football polls since they were ranked fifteenth in 1961. Rutgers ended the season 11–2 after winning the inaugural Texas Bowl on December 28, 2006, defeating the Kansas State Wildcats, Wildcats of Kansas State University by a score of 37–10 and finishing the season ranked twelfth in the final AP poll of sportswriters, the team's highest season-ending ranking.
Under Head Coach C. Vivian Stringer, the women's basketball program is among the elite programs in the country as they remain consistently ranked in the Top 25, consistently making the NCAA Women's Championship Tournament, and sometimes winning the Big East regular season championship. In 2006–2007, the Scarlet Knights won their first ever Big East Conference Tournament Championship. The program has been highly competitive since its inception, winning the 1982 AIAW National Championship, reaching the 2000 Final Four, and reaching the Final Four and national championship game in 2007.
The Scarlet Knights maintain athletic rivalries with other collegiate institutions. The university has historic rivalries with
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
, Columbia University (formerly ''King's College''), Lafayette College, Lehigh University and New York University originating from the early days of college football. While they maintain this rivalry in other sports, neither of them has met in football since 1980. Rutgers has a basketball rivalry with Seton Hall University. Pennsylvania State University, Penn State and the University of Maryland are the two schools with which Rutgers was developing rivalries with in the Big Ten.
In the fall of 2007, six Rutgers New Brunswick/Piscataway NCAA Division I sports were discontinued by the university, including men's swimming and diving, men's heavyweight and lightweight crew, men's tennis, and men's and women's fencing. Some continued as club teams, while some were disbanded completely. The university claims this change was due to budget cuts, while others claim it was a politically motivated move designed to protest state funding changes.
In November 2012, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, along with Louisville, Connecticut, and Cincinnati left the Big East to form the American Athletic Conference. Syracuse and Pittsburgh have decided to enter the Atlantic Coast Conference, while West Virginia entered the Big 12 conference, taking effect as of the 2012–2013 season. Rutgers decided to leave the American for the
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
, effective July 1, 2014. Rutgers surpassed Pennsylvania State University, Penn State as the Big Ten's easternmost school.
On March 23, 2019, Nick Suriano and Anthony Ashnault won national titles for Rutgers Wrestling and provided Rutgers with their first 2 NCAA wrestling championships.
In 2021, Rutgers men's basketball team was selected to participate in the NCAA tournament. This marked the program's first appearance in the tournament since 1991.
In 2022, Rutgers men's lacrosse team was selected to participate in the 2022 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, NCAA Division I tournament. They defeated Harvard Crimson men's lacrosse, Harvard and the Penn Quakers men's lacrosse, University of Pennsylvania to reach their first ever Final Four. Their season ended with a 17-10 loss to Cornell Big Red men's lacrosse, Cornell.
Notable people
Alumni
![Elizabeth Warren 2016](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Elizabeth_Warren_2016.jpg)
At Queen's College's first commencement in 1774, one graduate,
Matthew Leydt Matthew Leydt (1755–1783) was the first graduate of Queen's College (now Rutgers University) in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Matthew was the son of Syntje Slegt (1729–1763) (also spelled Tryntje Slecht or Sleight) and the Rev. Johannes Leydt (171 ...
, received his baccalaureate degree in a brief ceremony.
[Raven, John Howard (Rev.) (compiler). ]
Catalogue of the Officers and Alumni of Rutgers College (originally Queen's College) in New Brunswick, N.J., 1766–1916
''. (Trenton, New Jersey: State Gazette Publishing Company, 1916).
Rutgers alumni have been influential in many fields. Singer, athlete, attorney, and Civil Rights Movement activist
Paul Robeson graduated in 1919 and is the namesake of the Paul Robeson Cultural Center on the Busch Campus, the Paul Robeson Library on the Camden Campus, and the Campus Center on the Newark Campus. Among the first students enrolled at Rutgers (when it was ''Queen's College''), Simeon De Witt (A.B. 1776) became the Surveyor-General for the Continental Army (1776–1783) during the American Revolutionary War, American Revolution
and classmate James Schureman (A.B. 1775), served in the Continental Congress and as a United States senator.
Two alumni have been awarded Nobel prizes—
Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman (; July 31, 1912 – November 16, 2006) was an American economist and statistician who received the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and the ...
(A.B. 1932) in economics, and Selman A. Waksman (B.Sc. 1915, M.Sc.1916) in Medicine.
Poet Robert Pinsky (B.A. 1962) was appointed the nation's Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, poet laureate and novelist Junot Díaz (B.A. 1992) awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2008.
Seven alumni have served as List of Governors of New Jersey, New Jersey governor; two as List of Rutgers University presidents, president of Rutgers; Garret A. Hobart (A.B. 1863) as Vice President of the United States;
Louis Freeh (B.A. 1971, J.D. 1974) as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI; Frederick T. Frelinghuysen (A.B. 1836) a U.S. Senator, as U.S. Secretary of State.
Alumnus Joseph P. Bradley (A.B. 1836) served for two decades as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
and cast the tie-breaking vote on the bipartisan commission that decided the contested 1876 U.S. presidential election, American presidential election in 1876. Diplomat Maria Fernanda Espinosa served as President of the United Nations General Assembly. Senators Elizabeth Warren (JD) and Bob Menendez (JD) both attended
Rutgers Law School.
In business, alumni include: Bernard Marcus (B.S. 1951), founder of hardware retail company Home Depot; Bill Rasmussen (MBA 1960), founder of ESPN; and Duncan MacMillan (Bloomberg), Duncan MacMillan (B.S. 1966), co-founder of financial data and media company Bloomberg L.P. In science and technology, alumni include: Peter C. Schultz (B.S. 1967), co-inventor of fiber optics; molecular geneticist Angela Christiano (PhD 1991); geneticist Stanley N. Cohen (B.Sc. 1956) who pioneered in the field of gene splicing; physician Howard Krein; and Louis Gluck (B.S. 1930) the "father of neonatology."
Alumni prominent in entertainment include actor James Gandolfini (B.A. 1983) (The Sopranos); chef Mario Batali (B.A. 1982); David Stern (B.A. 1963), former commissioner of the National Basketball Association; Henry Selick, film director (Disney's The Nightmare Before Christmas); actor Michael Sorvino; author Holly Black; actor Sebastian Stan (Captain America: The Winter Soldier); cartoon character Mr Magoo; actress Jessica Darrow (Encanto); voice actor John DiMaggio (Futurama, Adventure Time); soccer player/commentator Alexi Lalas, and actress Kristin Davis (Sex and the City).
Faculty
65,000 undergraduate and graduate students currently study at Rutgers, instructed by more than 9,000 full-time and part-time faculty and supported by more than 15,000 full-time and part-time staff members.
[Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey]
"Numbers, Statistics and Stories to Tell: Facts & Figures
. Retrieved July 23, 2017. Former law professor Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933–2020) served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. During his 20-year tenure at Rutgers, David Levering Lewis, a former history professor, was twice awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography (1994 and 2001) for both volumes of his biography of W. E. B. Du Bois (1868–1963) and was also the winner of the Bancroft Prize and the Francis Parkman Prize. Poet Gregory Pardlo won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, he is both an alumnus and faculty member at the Camden campus. Michael R. Douglas, a prominent String theory, string theorist and the director of the New High Energy Theory Center and winner of the Sackler Prize in theoretical physics in 2000. Noted chef and restaurateur Maricel Presilla taught in the history department at
Rutgers. Avery Brooks, a Rutgers graduate, taught at
Mason Gross School of the Arts. Literature scholar Ankhi Mukherjee now at University of Oxford won the Rose Mary Crawshay prize. Jerry Fodor, Zenon Pylyshyn, Stephen Stich and Frances Egan were awarded the Jean Nicod Prize in
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
and cognitive science.
Many other members of the faculty have received the highest awards in their fields, including Guggenheim and MacArthur "Genius Award" fellowships, Pulitzer Prize winners, National Medal of Science and National Medal of Technology recipients, a National Endowment for the Arts "Jazz Master," amongst others.
, 37 science, engineering and medical faculty are members of the four "National Academies"—the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council.
[Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey]
"Rutgers Outstanding Thinkers: Members of the National Academies"
. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
See also
*
2011 Rutgers tuition protests
* The 2012 Project
* List of American state universities#New Jersey, List of American state universities
* List of Rutgers University people
* List of Rutgers University presidents
* List of colleges and universities in New Jersey
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
* H.M. Berman, J. Westbrook, Z. Feng, G. Gilliland, T.N. Bhat, H. Weissig, I.N. Shindyalov, P.E. Bourne: The Protein Data Bank. Nucleic Acids Research, 28, pp. 235–242 (2000).
* Demarest, William Henry Steele. ''History of Rutgers College: 1776–1924.'' (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers College, 1924).
* ''History of Rutgers College: or an account of the union of Rutgers College, and the Theological Seminary of the General Synod of the Reformed Dutch Church. Prepared and published at the request of several trustees of the College, by a trustee.'' (New York: Anderson & Smith, 1833).
* Lukac, George J. (ed.), ''Aloud to Alma Mater.'' (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1966), 70–73.
* McCormick, Richard P. ''Rutgers: a Bicentennial History''. (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1966).
* Schmidt, George P. ''Princeton and Rutgers: The Two Colonial Colleges of New Jersey''. (Princeton, New Jersey: Van Nostrand, 1964).
External links
*
Official Home of the Scarlet KnightsOfficial Home of the Scarlet RaidersOfficial Home of the Scarlet Raptors* 1937–.
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Robert A. M. Stern buildings