Rutgers University–Camden is one of three regional campuses of

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

, 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 ...

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 key sites of Knowledge production modes, knowledge production", along with "intergenerational ...

consisting of four campuses in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. It is located in

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828.Snyder, John P''The Story of ...

. Founded in 1926 as the South Jersey Law School, Rutgers–Camden began as an amalgam of the South Jersey Law School and the College of South Jersey. It is the southernmost of the three regional campuses of Rutgers—the others being located in

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

and Newark. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". In 2024 the school was ranked 48th among the top public universities and 98th among national universities by US News and World Report

History

Rutgers University-Camden was founded in 1926 as The College of South Jersey and South Jersey Law School by a group of South Jersey lawyers led by Collingswood mayor Arthur Armitage. The campus joined the Rutgers University system in 1950, becoming Rutgers University-Camden and Rutgers Law School-Camden. Since the merger the campus has expanded its footprint in the Cooper Grant and Downtown/University District neighborhoods in Camden. The Black Student Unity Movement of Rutgers-Camden was founded in 1969 by a group of black students at the school. While segregation in public education was deemed unconstitutional by the decision in ''

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the ...

,'' universities still had policies in place that caused de facto segregation. On February 10, 1969, three students from the Black Student Unity Movement interrupted a political science class that was taking place on Rutgers-Camden's campus and dispersed papers that listed the movement's demands. Some demands listed by the Black Student Unity Movement were "that all racist faculty be removed from the university, an Urban Education Department be established, and that the new library addition be named after Paul Robeson". The movement was unable to get their demands met by Rutgers University immediately, but in 1991, Paul Robeson Library was established on the Rutgers-Camden campus. New location of walt whitman statue-Rutgers University-Camden

New location of walt whitman statue-Rutgers University-Camden

In 2012, there was a proposal for the campus to merge with Rowan University. Due to a large opposition movement led by faculty, staff, students and alumni, the proposal was defeated. On June 20, 2020, students of Rutgers University–Camden created a petition that called for, "the removal of the Walt Whitman statue which stands tall in the middle of our campus." Walt Whitman was an American poet and writer, who purchased a house in Camden in 1864, where he wrote his defining work, "Leaves of Grass". In some of his works, Walt Whitman referred to black individuals as "baboons" and "wild brutes" and had utilized a racial slur against black people. Many Black intellectuals have called for these comments to be discussed at the same time as praise of Walt Whitman. Rutgers University-Camden addressed the concerns proposed in the petition by hosting virtual meetings with community members, university faculty, students, and historians. In 2021, the statute of Walt Whitman was moved from in front of the Rutgers University–Camden campus center to a garden space on campus and included contextualization of the complex history.

Academics

Rutgers–Camden is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. It has nearly 40 majors and 50 minors plus special programs, an Honors College, hands-on research with faculty mentors, study abroad, internships, civic learning, and various graduate and advanced professional programs. The

academic year An academic year, or school year, is a period that schools, colleges and university, universities use to measure the duration of studies for a given educational level. Academic years are often divided into academic terms. Students attend classe ...

follows a 4-4 schedule of two four-course semesters, fall and spring. During the winter study term, students study various courses outside of typical curriculum for 3 weeks in January. Rutgers students often take the winter study term to pursue internships or work on intensive research projects.

Graduate and professional programs

The Graduate School offers 14 programs granting master's degrees in several

liberal arts Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''skill, art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refe ...

disciplines including history, English literature, languages, and creative writing, as well as advanced degrees in the biological, chemical, computer, and mathematical sciences, nursing, psychology, social work, political science and public policy, and Doctoral programs in Childhood Studies, Computational Biology, and Public Affairs with emphasis on community development. An MBA program is offered through the Rutgers School of Business-Camden.

Visual and Performing Arts

The Rutgers–Camden Center for the Arts provides performances, exhibitions, education programs, and community projects. The Fine Arts Building on the Rutgers–Camden campus houses the Walter K. Gordon Theater, Black Box Theater, and the Stedman Gallery. The Gordon Theater is the home venue for the Collingswood-based Symphony in C.

The Rutgers School of Business–Camden

The Rutgers School of Business is accredited by the

Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) is an American professional and accreditation organization. It was founded as the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business in 1916 to provide accreditation to busines ...

(AACSB).

The Rutgers Law School

The Rutgers Law School is a center of legal education, with two campuses—in Camden and Newark. Its faculty is internationally recognized in a number of fields including constitutional, criminal, health, and corporate law. Its alumni are leading members of the bar in public and private practice settings throughout the nation. The school is well represented among the state and federal judiciary. The law school is a member of the Association of American Law Schools and is on the list of approved schools of the American Bar Association. It offers a three-year course of study for full-time students and a four-year, part-time program leading to the awarding of the Juris Doctor degree."

The Rutgers School of Nursing–Camden

The Rutgers School of Nursing–Camden offers curricula that integrate nursing knowledge and clinical practice, including baccalaureate programs for traditional students, registered nurse students, and second-degree students; a doctor of nursing practice program; and certification in school nursing and wound ostomy continence nursing.

Libraries

The Paul Robeson Library develops and maintains access to materials that support undergraduate and graduate coursework and research. A designated Federal Depository for the First U.S. Congressional District, the library serves as a public resource for the citizens of New Jersey. Library faculty deliver comprehensive support for reference and research questions in their subject areas. Through the Paul Robeson Library, the Rutgers–Camden community may access the global resources of the Rutgers University Library System. The Robeson library also serves as the academic library for students and faculty at the Camden campuses of Camden County College and Rowan University. The Law Library is one of New Jersey's largest law libraries. It serves as a research facility for law students, legal practitioners, and the general public. The Law Library houses a collection of over 440,000 books and other materials, and the collection is comprehensive in its holdings of American, English, Canadian, and foreign legal periodicals. The Law Library is located on three floors of the Law School Building. A selective federal depository, the Rutgers–Camden Law Library hosts numerous online collections of public documents related to federal and New Jersey courts.

Campus

Dorms and student housing

Undergraduate and graduate dorms are located at Third and Cooper Streets, and a graduate residence hall is located at 330 Cooper Street. The twelve-story residence hall is the tallest building on campus. Many students live off campus in Camden's Cooper Grant neighborhood, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, or in surrounding suburbs such as Collingswood and Haddonfield.

Alumni House

The Rutgers Alumni House is located at 312 Cooper Street, in a historic mansion built in 1809, and serves the alumni of all four Rutgers University campuses.

Writers House

The Rutgers Writers House is located at 305 Cooper Street, in a house historically known as the Dr. Henry Genet Taylor House. The house is home to the university's MFA in Creative Writing Program, as well as the journals ''Cooper Street'' and '' StoryQuarterly''. The Writers House hosts writers, scholars, and others for various programs.

Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts

North of the campus green, The Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts houses the Stedman Art Gallery, the Gordon Theater, and the Black Box theater.

Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities

Rutgers-Camden is home to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities (MARCH), a public humanities learning and professional center which publishes the Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia, hosts fellowships, and sponsors research projects on the Mid-Atlantic region.

Transportation services

Cooper Street-Rutgers University Station

Regional rail access to the university is provided by the PATCO's

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

station, located two blocks from center campus, and the RiverLINE's Cooper Street–Rutgers University station. The Walter Rand Transportation Center is located a few blocks from campus, which provides access to several NJ Transit bus lines. Additionally, the seasonally operated RiverLink Ferry running between Camden and Philadelphia has a stop at the nearby Adventure Aquarium. As a service to students of the university, the Rutgers–Camden Police Department provides "a walking security escort for individuals to their vehicles, campus housing, the PATCO Hi-Speed Line station at 5th and Market Sts., and the Walter Rand Transportation Center on Broadway". The campus also runs shuttle buses with stops throughout the campus.

Athletics

The Rutgers–Camden's athletic teams are called the Scarlet Raptors. The university is a member in the Division III level of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA), primarily competing in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) for most of its sports since the 1985–86 academic year;Rutgers–Camden official athletics website
Retrieved on 2017-01-10. except men's golf and women's volleyball, which the NJAC does not sponsor either. In those two sports, the Scarlet Raptors are members of the United East Conference (UEC) for men's golf and the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) for women's volleyball. Rutgers–Camden competes in 17 intercollegiate varsity sports (8 for men and 9 for women): Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis and track & field (indoor and outdoor); while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, baseball, tennis, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball.

Achievements

In 2006, Rutgers–Camden earned its first NCAA Division III national championship when the softball team defeated top-ranked and two-time defending champion St. Thomas (Minn.), 3–2. Rutgers–Camden set program marks with a 47–5 record and a 29-game winning streak. In 2012 and 2013, Rutgers–Camden student-athlete Tim VanLiew won back-to-back NCAA Men's Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the

javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon. Today, the javelin is predominantly used for sporting purposes such as the javelin throw. The javelin is nearly always thrown by hand, unlike the sling ...

. He won his first title on May 26, 2012, with a throw of at Claremont–Mudd–Scripps in Claremont, California. Nearly a year to the day of his first title, he not only defended his national javelin title, but he did so in record-breaking fashion. VanLiew's throw of set the all-time NCAA Division III record for the new javelin, while shattering the NCAA Championship record, the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse stadium mark, and VanLiew's old Rutgers–Camden program record in the process. Rutgers–Camden's men's soccer team went a school-record 37 consecutive games without a loss, a record that spanned the 2012 and 2013 seasons. The team compiled a 32–0–5 record during that time, the eighth-longest streak in NCAA Division III men's soccer history. The team earned a trip to the NCAA Division III National Championship for the first time in program history by defeating Loras College, 3–2, in overtime on Dec. 6, 2013, in San Antonio, Texas. The unbeaten streak came to an end on Dec. 7, 2013, in a 2–1 double-overtime loss to Messiah College in the NCAA Division III National Championship. The men's soccer team won three consecutive NJAC titles and in 2013 finished ranked No. 3 in the D3soccer.com Top 25 and No. 4 in the NSCAA national poll.

Student life

Student body

Approximately 6,600 undergraduate and graduate students attend Rutgers–Camden. Nearly 600 students live on campus. Renowned for its commitment for diversity, the student body is made up of students from 29 states and 33 countries. There are many clubs that represent various ethnic and racial groups, various religious denominations, political beliefs, and an LGBTQ club. There have been over 43,000 graduates as of 2016

Student media

* ''The Gleaner'' independent weekly newspaper; includes Features, Arts & Entertainment, Commentary, Weekly Word, Comics/Horoscope, Sports * WCCR-Camden Internet-based radio station

Scholarly journals and publications

* Cooper Street * Mickle Street Review * Rutgers Journal of Law and Public Policy (J.L.P.P.) * Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion * Rutgers Law Journal * StoryQuarterly * The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia * Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities

Notable alumni

* Wayne R. Bryant, J.D. 1972, New Jersey Senator (1995–2008) * William T. Cahill, J.D. 1937, 46th

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...

(1970–1974) *

Bonnie Watson Coleman Bonnie Marie Watson Coleman (born February 6, 1945) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for New Jersey's 12th congressional district since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party (U ...

, attended, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives representing New Jersey's 12th District. *

James Florio James Joseph Florio (August 29, 1937 – September 25, 2022) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 49th governor of New Jersey from 1990 to 1994. He was previously the U.S. representative for New Jersey's 1st congressional dist ...

, J.D. 1967, 49th

(1990–1994) * Frank J. Giordano, Class of 1972, President and CEO of the Philly Pops Orchestra, former president of the Union League of Philadelphia * Charles Hallahan, Class of 1969, actor ('' The Thing'', '' Hunter'') * Michael B. Lavery, J.D. 1989, current Chairman of the New Jersey Republican State Committee and former mayor of Hackettstown. * Kenneth LeFevre, Class of 1976, 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 ...

1996–2002 *

Paul Lisicky Paul Lisicky (born July 9, 1959) is an American novelist and memoirist. He is an associate professor in the MFA Program at Rutgers University-Camden, and the author of several books. Early life Paul Lisicky was born on July 9, 1959. He grew up ...

, Class of 1983, MFA 1986, author, creative writing professor, 2016 Guggenheim Fellow * Walt MacDonald, Class of 1974, CEO of Educational Testing Services * Gene Muller, Class of 1977, founder and CEO of Flying Fish Brewing * Joseph A. Mussomeli, J.D. 1978, former ambassador to

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

and

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

* Daniel Nester, Class of 1991, poet and essayist * Donald Norcross, attended, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives representing New Jersey's 1st District. * George Norcross, attended, Insurance executive and chairman of Cooper Health System * John C. Norcross, Class of 1980, author, psychiatrist, university professor * David Oh, J.D. 1985, Philadelphia City Councilperson and 2023 Republican mayoral candidate."Rutgers Law Holds First Annual Judge Leonard I. Garth Appellate Moot Court Competition Presided over by u.s. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito"
/ref> * Wendy Osefo, Ph.D. 2016, political commentator and assistant professor at

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

* Gregory Pardlo, Class of 1999, poet, recipient of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry * Robert Pulcini, Class of 1989, Academy Award nominated documentary and feature filmmaker, co-director of '' American Splendor'' * Dana Redd, Class of 1989, former mayor of

. * Eduardo Robreno, J.D. 1978,

federal judge Federal judges are judges appointed by a federal level of government as opposed to the state/provincial/local level. United States A U.S. federal judge is appointed by the U.S. president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in accordance with Arti ...

for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania * Maria Rodriguez-Gregg, Class of 2013, member of the New Jersey General Assembly * Gregory M. Sleet, J.D. 1976, federal judge for the United States District Court for the District of Delaware

References

External links

*
Athletics website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rutgers-Camden 1926 establishments in New Jersey Buildings and structures in Camden, New Jersey Education in Camden, New Jersey Public universities and colleges in New Jersey Tourist attractions in Camden, New Jersey Universities and colleges established in 1926 Universities and colleges in Camden County, New Jersey