Ramapo College of New Jersey (RCNJ) 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 sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

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 ca ...

in Mahwah, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. As of the fall 2021 semester, there were a total of 5,732 students enrolled at the college, including 576 graduate students and 11 doctorate students.

History

In the late 19th century, the Ramapo Valley was developed for large estates by many wealthy families. Theodore Havemeyer and his family arrived in the area in the 1870s. Havemeyer, a founder of the American Sugar Company, purchased and renovated a home on the road that would become Route 202 and developed more than surrounding the mansion into a farm. In 1889 he had a second mansion built on the property for one of his daughters. That mansion and about of the original 1,000 were later purchased by

Stephen Birch Stephen Birch (1873–1950) was the President of the Kennecott Copper Company. Early life Birch was born in New York City on March 24, 1873. He was the second son out of six children. His father was a Union Army sergeant who died when Ste ...

, president of the

Kennecott Copper Company Kennecott Utah Copper LLC (KUC), a division of Rio Tinto Group, is a mining, smelting, and refining company. Its corporate headquarters are located in South Jordan, Utah. Kennecott operates the Bingham Canyon Mine, one of the largest open-pit c ...

.Henry Bischoff, ''A History of Ramapo College of New Jersey: The First Quarter Century – 1971–1996'' (Mahwah: Ramapo College of New Jersey,1997). In 1968, the New Jersey Department of Higher Education authorized establishing a new state college in

Bergen County Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.suburbanization. The criteria for the new college's location were sufficient land for the construction of current needs and future expansion, and proximity to at least one major highway. The locations of existing public and private institutions in the state were also taken into consideration. The college was planned to serve economically deprived students from urban and rural areas, in addition to a full range of middle-class families. George Potter, an administrator at

Grand Valley State University Grand Valley State University (GVSU, GV, or Grand Valley) is a public university in Allendale, Michigan. It was established in 1960 as Grand Valley State College. Its main campus is situated on approximately west of Grand Rapids. The universit ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

, was appointed the first President of the college before a location had been determined. After many board meetings, it was decided that the former Birch Estate in Mahwah would be the location for the new college. Although the land was farther north than originally intended for the campus, its proximity to Route 17 and mountainous surroundings made it an attractive site. The architects drew up plans for an L-shaped, glass-walled facility consisting of five two-story academic buildings connected by large entry spaces, with each building devoted to a particular department or division. The architects recommended this approach to allow for rapid construction of additional wings onto the various entry spaces, allowing quick expansion of the college. The former Havemeyer mansion was adapted as the president's house, and the former Birch Mansion was renovated to be used as the administration building of the college. Rodney David Smith served as college's third president, from July 1, 2001, to June 30, 2004. He was succeeded by Dr. Peter Philip Mercer, who was succeeded by Cindy Jebb on July 6, 2021.

Academics

Ramapo College offers bachelor's degrees in the arts, business, the social and natural sciences, and the humanities, as well as in professional studies programs such as nursing and social work. Seven programs are offered leading to a master's degree: Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Social Work (MSW), Master of Arts in Educational Leadership (MAEL), Master of Science in Educational Technology (MSET), Master of Arts in Special Education (MASE), Master of Science in Nursing Education (MSN), and a Master of Science in Accounting (MSAC). The college also offers a physician assistant (B.S./M.S.) and physical therapy (B.S./D.P.T.) with 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 majo ...

; a B.A./Master's degree program in Art Therapy with

Caldwell University Caldwell University is a private Catholic university in Caldwell, New Jersey. Founded in 1939 by the Sisters of St. Dominic, the university is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, chartered by the State of New Jersey, ...

; a B.S./Doctor of Chiropractic with New York Chiropractic College; a B.S./D.D.S. and a B.S./D.M.D. with the

Rutgers School of Dental Medicine The Rutgers School of Dental Medicine (formerly New Jersey Dental School) is the dental school of Rutgers University. It is one of several professional schools that form Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, a division of the university. Esta ...

; a B.S./Doctor of Optometry (O.D.) with SUNY State College of Optometry; and a B.S./Doctor of Podiatric Medicine through

New York College of Podiatric Medicine The New York College of Podiatric Medicine (NYCPM) is a private podiatric medical college in Manhattan, New York. It is the oldest and second largest podiatric medical school in the United States. History Founded in 1911, NYCPM was the first ...

(NYCPM). The five interdisciplinary schools include the Anisfield School of Business (Dean Edward Petkus), the School of Contemporary Arts (Dean Ken Goldstein), the School of Humanities and Global Studies (Interim Dean Susan Hangen), the School of Social Science and Human Services (Dean Aaron Lorenz), and the School of Theoretical and Applied Science (Interim Dean Edward Saiff).

Accreditation

Ramapo College was established in 1968 as a state-supported, co-educational, four-year College for liberal arts, sciences, and professional studies. Ramapo received accreditation from 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 accreditation of public and private schools in the Mid-Atl ...

in 1975. Individual programs also received accreditation. The Social Work Program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, the Chemistry Program is approved by the

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...

(ACS), the Nursing Program is accredited by the

National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission The National League for Nursing (NLN) is a national organization for faculty nurses and leaders in nurse education. It offers faculty development, networking opportunities, testing services, nursing research grants, and public policy initiative ...

(NLNAC) and the New Jersey Board of Nursing, the Teacher Certification program is approved by the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) and the State of New Jersey, and the Anisfield School of Business is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business ( AACSB). Ramapo College is also a founding member of the

Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges The Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC) is a consortium of 30 public colleges and universities in 27 states and one Canadian province. Established in 1987, COPLAC advances the aims of its member institutions and drives awareness of the ...

Rankings

''U.S. News & World Report'' ranks Ramapo 37th among 196 "Regional Universities in the North" in its 2018 list. According to ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'', as of 2018, Ramapo College of New Jersey was rated #370 in Top Colleges, #127 in Public Colleges, and #143 in the Northeast region. However, in 2019, Forbes ranked Ramapo College at #341 in Top Colleges, #116 in Public Colleges, and #133 in the Northeast region, and ranked Ramapo at #206 in America's Best Value Colleges of 2019.

Campus

Ramapo College, Salameno Spiritual Center

Praised for its accessibility and modernity which is juxtaposed by the picturesque outdoors, Ramapo College, which lies at the foothills of the Ramapo Mountains, was named by '' CondeNast Traveler'' as one of the 50 Most Beautiful College Campuses in America in 2020. The campus includes modern academic buildings, the Robert A. Scott Student Center (which houses student offices, the Birch Tree Inn and Atrium cafeterias, and J. Lee's student lounge); entertainment and meeting rooms; a library with electronic research facilities; the Ramapo Spiritual Center, an administration building; athletic playing fields and 12 lighted tennis courts. The Angelica and Russ Berrie Center for Performing and Visual Arts houses performance theaters, art galleries and specialized spaces devoted to fine arts, computer art, photography, theater, dance and music. The Berrie Center includes a number of art galleries that are aligned with the School of Contemporary Arts and display a wide variety of art including faculty artwork and international collections. The visual arts faculty uses the exhibitions as an educational tool to illustrate the creative process to students. The art galleries include the Kresge Gallery, Pascal Gallery, Selden Rodman Gallery, Potter Library Gallery, and the Photo Lounge Gallery. The Potter Library Galleries showcase regional artists and student work. A campus-wide building program during recent years has resulted in the completion of the Anisfield School of Business, designed by local firm SNS Architects & Engineers, which opened in Fall 2007 and the Bill Bradley Sports and Recreation center with its 2,200-seat arena, fitness center, climbing wall, dance/aerobics studio, gymnasium and indoor swimming pool. The center has also been used for live music. A new synthetic outdoor running track was laid down in the summer of 2008, and further refurbishments to the main athletic stadium are ongoing. Five residence halls, Mackin Hall, Bischoff Hall, Overlook Hall, Laurel Hall, as well as the Village, an apartment-style complex, were also completed. Restoration of the College Park Apartments, built during the late 1970s, is also underway, reaching Phase II of the project. As per the other residence halls, they are relatively modern, with Pine Hall being completed in 1986 and Linden Hall completed in 1990. Bischoff Hall opened in 1999, followed by Mackin Hall in 2000, the Village apartments in 2002, the distinctively designed Overlook Hall in 2004, and Laurel Hall in 2005. The Salameno Spiritual Center is now open. The Adler Center for Nursing Excellence opened in the fall of 2015 and houses both undergraduate and graduate nursing programs, featuring three simulation rooms where students work with computer-simulated patients, in addition to a nursing skills lab and a laboratory for anatomy and physiology. The school has an independent FM radio station, WRPR, 90.3 FM, a free-form station featuring numerous genres and talk shows. The Roukema Center for International Education is located in the Anisfield School of Business. Here, advisement is given for those students who want to study abroad. There are more than 50 countries in Ramapo's study abroad program, which includes a variety of faculty-led trips to international destinations such as China, Cuba, Ghana, India, Japan, Spain, Peru, and Portugal.

Athletics

Ramapo College currently has 8 men's teams and 12 women's teams, and participates in

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their ...

sports. Men's sports include

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open cou ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

, swimming,

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

, and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

. Women's athletic teams at Ramapo College consist of basketball,

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

, cross country running,

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

, soccer,

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

, swimming, tennis, track and field, and volleyball. Ramapo also offers a club DIII ice hockey team. The men's basketball team won the 2017 New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) championship and advanced to the NCAA Division III playoffs. However, Ramapo was eliminated after the second round of playoff competition. The hockey team won the Metropolitan Collegiate Hockey Conference title for 2016–2017 season. Student supporters of Ramapo College's athletic teams are known as the Ramapo Rowdies.

Affiliations

* NCAA Division III, ECAC * New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) * North East Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA) *

Skyline Conference The Skyline Conference is a college athletic conference based in the New York City area that competes in the NCAA's Division III. The league was originally chartered on May 16, 1989, as a men's basketball conference and now sponsors 17 sports ...

* Metro (NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship, NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship Division III)

Notable alumni

* Lauren H. Carson (born 1954), member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, representing the 75th District since 2015. * Frank Eufemia (born 1959), former MLB relief pitcher who played with the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

. *

Tim Eustace Timothy James Eustace, commonly known as Tim Eustace (born December 27, 1956) is an American chiropractor and Democratic Party politician from Maywood, New Jersey who served in the New Jersey General Assembly, representing the 38th Legislative ...

(born 1956), one of New Jersey's first openly gay assemblymen, he has represented the state's 38th Legislative District since 2012. * Don La Greca (born 1968), sportscaster who is the co-host of '' The Michael Kay Show'' on ESPN New York. * Grace Helbig (born 1985), comedian, actress, ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' bestselling author and creator and host of the web series ''It's Grace''. *

Ron Cephas Jones Ron Cephas Jones (born January 8, 1957) is an American actor. He is best known for his role in the drama series ''This Is Us'' (2016–2022), which earned him four consecutive Primetime Emmy Award nominations, winning twice for Outstanding Guest ...

(born 1957), actor known for '' This is Us'', ''

Mr. Robot ''Mr. Robot'' is an American drama thriller television series created by Sam Esmail for USA Network. It stars Rami Malek as Elliot Alderson, a cybersecurity engineer and hacker with social anxiety disorder, clinical depression and dissociati ...

'' and ''

Across The Universe "Across the Universe" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. It was written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song first appeared on the 1969 various artists' charity compilation album ''No One's Gonna Change Our W ...

''. *

Mark Leiter Mark Edward Leiter (born April 13, 1963) is an American former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who had an 11-year career from to and in . Leiter grew up in Toms River, New Jersey. Leiter graduated from Central Regional High Sch ...

(born 1963), former MLB pitcher. *

Todd Lowber Todd Lowber (born January 26, 1982) is a former gridiron football wide receiver. He most recently played for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2007 ...

(born 1982), former NFL/

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

professional football player, who was on the

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

championship team *

Joshua Orwa Ojode Joshua Orwa Ojode (29 December 1958 – 10 June 2012) was a Kenyan politician. He was first appointed to parliament on June 28, 1994 to represent the Ndhiwa Constituency for the National Development party. In 2007 he joined the Orange Democratic ...

(1958-2012), Kenyan politician and assistant interior minister. * Laura-Ann Petitto (born c. 1954), cognitive neuroscientist and a developmental cognitive neuroscientist, known for her discoveries involving the language capacity of chimpanzees. * Jeff Phillips (born 1968), fitness trainer and former actor best known for his work on ''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the third longest-running drama in television in American history. ''Guiding Light'' a ...

'', '' As the World Turns'' and the 1996 film ''

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Many ...

'' * Mike Roche, actor. * Kevin J. Rooney (born 1960), member of the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

representing the state's 40th Legislative District since 2016. * Jay Seals (born 1976), actor, known for his recurring role in the television drama ''

Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on the cable network AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, lasting for seven seasons and 92 episodes. Its f ...

'' from 2010 to 2015. * Rich Skrosky (born 1964), football player and coach. *

Patrick Stickles Patrick Stickles (born July 28, 1985) is an American musician and the lead singer, frontman, and songwriter of New Jersey-based punk rock band Titus Andronicus. Stickles grew up in Glen Rock, New Jersey and graduated from Glen Rock High School as ...

(born 1985), singer, guitarist, and songwriter in the band Titus Andronicus

Notable faculty

Murray Bookchin Murray Bookchin (January 14, 1921 – July 30, 2006) was an American social theorist, author, orator, historian, and political philosopher. A pioneer in the environmental movement, Bookchin formulated and developed the theory of social ...

(1921-2006), political theorist, pioneer in the ecology movement and former faculty member. * Thilmeeza Hussain (born 1978), Maldivian Ambassador to the United Nations (2019–present) and former adjunct professor. * Laura McCullough (born 1960), poet and former professor.

Demographics

Ramapo College of New Jersey CDP is also a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, suc ...

(CDP) covering the Ramapo College campus in

Bergen County, New Jersey Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Official athletics website
{{authority control Universities and colleges in Bergen County, New Jersey Educational institutions established in 1969 Ramapos Mahwah, New Jersey 1969 establishments in New Jersey Liberal arts colleges in New Jersey Public universities and colleges in New Jersey Public liberal arts colleges in the United States