The College of New Jersey

The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) is a public university in Ewing, New Jersey. TCNJ was established in 1855 as the New Jersey State Normal School. The institution was the first normal school in the state of New Jersey and the fifth in the United States. Originally located in Trenton proper, the college was moved to its present location in adjacent Ewing Township during the early to mid-1930s. Since its inception, TCNJ has undergone several name changes, the most recent being the 1996 change to its current name from Trenton State College.

TCNJ is a selective institution, with a stated mission to keep New Jersey's most talented students in-state for higher education.  TCNJ aims to combine the best practices of private institutions with a public mission, resulting in an innovative and unique model for undergraduate education. The college encourages free inquiry and open exchange, offering a wide range of learning opportunities in its classrooms, laboratories and studios throughout the campus, as well as at various off-campus locations.

The institution is organized into seven schools, all of which offer bachelor's degree programs and several of which offer targeted master's degree programs. Emphasis is placed on liberal arts education via the college's general education requirements. Much of TCNJ is built in Georgian colonial architecture style on 289 tree-lined acres.

History

The College of New Jersey was established on February 9, 1855 by an act of the New Jersey Legislature mandating the creation of a state normal school, making the New Jersey State Normal School the first teacher training institution in New Jersey and the ninth in the United States. Prior to this, then-Governor Rodman McCamley Price had actively promoted the notion of founding a training institute for New Jersey's teachers and helped to mobilize support among influential state leaders: 

For the first 73 years, the school was located in Trenton on Clinton Avenue. Beginning in 1925, the institution offered its first four-year baccalaureate degrees, and engaged on a transitional program of expansion. In 1928, a suburban tract of 210 acres (0.8 km²) was purchased in Ewing Township, New Jersey and preparations were underway to relocate the College. The first building erected on the new campus was Green Hall, built in traditional Georgian colonial style. The majority of buildings now on campus reflect Green Hall's architecture. In 1996, in a move spearheaded by Harold Eickhoff, The College of New Jersey adopted its current name.

Programs in graduate study were instituted in 1947, followed by accreditation from various national associations in the 1950s. The enactment of the Higher Education Act of 1966 paved the way for TCNJ to become a comprehensive institution by expanding its degree programs into a variety of fields aside from the education of teachers. By 1972, 70 percent of entering students were selecting non-education majors.

 Names
 1855 — New Jersey State Normal School
 1908 — New Jersey State Normal School in Trenton
 1929 — New Jersey State Teachers College and State Normal School at Trenton
 1937 — New Jersey State Teachers College at Trenton
 1958 — Trenton State College
 1996 — The College of New Jersey

Academics

Programs

More than 50 liberal arts and professional programs are offered through the College's seven schools: Arts and Communication; Business; Culture and Society; Education; Engineering; Nursing, Health & Exercise Science; and Science.

The College of New Jersey offers degrees in over 50 liberal arts and professional programs. TCNJ also offers a 7-year combined B.S./M.D. (Bachelor of Science/Doctor of Medicine) program for graduating high school students in conjunction with University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Admission into this program is highly selective. This program offers guaranteed admission to UMDNJ upon completion of three years of undergraduate study at TCNJ and the maintenance of a minimum GPA (currently set at 3.5).

These programs are organized into one of seven schools:
 School of Arts and Communication
 School of Business
 School of Humanities and Social Sciences
 School of Education
 School of Engineering
 School of Nursing, Health & Exercise Science
 School of Science

Global programs
The College of New Jersey offers graduate programs in Education at a number of international locations. Currently students can complete a State of New Jersey Teacher Certification and earn a Master of Education degree while studying in Bangkok, Thailand; Majorca, Spain; or Johannesburg, South Africa. In addition to this, all TCNJ students are encouraged to study abroad after completing a year's worth of credits from the school. The student must also be in good academic standing. The TCNJ Center for Global Engagement works together with TCNJ faculty to offer undergraduate students a wide variety of programs, from short-term, faculty-led study abroad programs to semester- and year-long programs in dozens of countries. More than 400 students in 2012–2013 studied at universities in over twenty countries on six continents.

TCNJ also hosts Institute for ESL & American Studies, a language and culture immersion that brings international students to campus from all over the world to develop their English language skill and American culture. Students in this program earn 12 credits in the fall or spring semesters and 8 credits in the summer that can be transferred anywhere, learn in small classes of no more than 8 students, and take trips to New York City and Philadelphia. Graduate students can also take part in a non-credit seminar on teaching in American universities. Full-time TCNJ students have the chance to live with this cohort during the program, work with them as conversation partners, and help them learn to navigate campus life.

Rankings
According to U.S. News & World Report’s regional annual rankings, TCNJ is #4 in Northern Regional Universities category. In terms of regional universities for the North, for both public and private institutions, TCNJ ranked 4th in 2018.

Since the 1990s, incoming students are required to participate in the TCNJ First Year Experience, a large component of the liberal arts curriculum at TCNJ.

Nearly two-thirds (64%) of TCNJ students who apply to medical school are accepted. Many top corporations also recruit TCNJ graduates. Other barometers of student success include the 100% pass-rate of education majors taking the state teacher preparation test and the 85 percent three-year pass rate for nursing students going for their license. TCNJ has a 95% freshman retention rate. The College has an 85% graduation rate.

Campus life

Residence halls

First-year students at TCNJ are either given a room assignment in Travers/Wolfe Tower, Centennial Hall, or any empty rooms in the Allen/Brewster/Ely Complex. Second-year students live in New Residence, Allen Hall, Brewster Hall, Ely Hall, Norsworthy Hall, Eickhoff Hall, Cromwell Hall and Decker Hall. There are currently plans to construct another building specifically for second-year housing. Upperclassmen typically live in Townhouses South, East or West, or in one of the two newly constructed apartment complexes; Phelps Hall and Hausdoerffer Hall. Upperclassmen may also live in one of the various College Houses that surrounds the campus. While 95 percent of first-year students live on campus, only 50 percent of upperclassmen live on campus, instead choosing to live in homes and apartments surrounding the College.

Campus Town
In 2013 groundbreaking began for The Campus Town complex. Consisting of seven buildings — Campus Town Clock Tower, apartments and recreation space — Campus Town was built by PRC Campus Centers LLC on 12 acres of property located on campus and it has 80,000 square feet of commercial space.

The Campus Town complex has space to house 446 juniors and seniors in one-, two- and four-bedroom apartments. Each apartment has a living room/dining area, separate bedrooms, one or two bathrooms depending upon the unit, a full kitchen with a dishwasher and a full-sized washer and dryer. The complex has 500 parking spots.

The Campus Town complex houses an 11,500-square-foot fitness center that replaced the college’s 4,000-square-foot gym. The apartments and the fitness center are only open to the students, but the complex’s retail stores will be open to the public. Barnes & Noble is an anchor tenant, with a brand-new 14,000-square-foot store and leasing is underway with many others, including a yogurt shop, sushi restaurant, convenience store and brewpub.

Dining

There are currently ten Sodexo operated dining facilities on the TCNJ campus as well as a convenience store and bookstore (where convenience store-like food and beverages are sold). Eickhoff hall houses The Atrium at Eickhoff, the main dining hall, where students pay a door price and have access to buffet style food, along with The 1855 Room, a staff/faculty dining room, and the convenience store. TDubs, the late night dining hall, is located between the Travers and Wolfe towers.

A café serving Starbucks coffee is located on the main level of Gitenstein Library. Sandwiches, bagels, and other items are served in addition to beverages. A similar café, the STEM Forum Cafe, is located in the newly-constructed STEM Forum Complex, opened in Fall 2017. Coffee and grab n' go items are served here. In the Education Building is the Education Cafe, serving a variety of coffee, sandwiches, and baked desserts.

The Brower Student Center is home to three different dining facilities. Fresh Pride Cafe is located near one of the main entrances and is the smallest of the three. Because there are various couches and tables of the students center surrounding it, it does not have seating of its own. Traditions is a restaurant and bar, where students can sit down to order meals from servers. Alcoholic beverages are served. Also within the Traditions is a stage where bands perform on various nights. The last dining facility is the student center food court and is colloquially referred to as "The Lion's Den". Students can get food and other items at various stations, which they then bring to one of the registers to purchase.

Entrepreneurship
In the mid-2000s, TCNJ began to put a more concentrated effort on student entrepreneurship. Administrative resources were put toward counselling and workshops for students. The Mayo Business Plan Competition in April 2012 saw numerous student groups competing for $12,000 to launch their start-up businesses. The school has also held entrepreneurship events for local high school students.

Student life

Nearby metropolitan areas such as Philadelphia and New York City are an hour and a half or less away by train. Surveys of the student population indicate, however, that 80% of residential students remain on-campus for at least 3 weekends per month. TCNJ also has over 180 student organizations managed by the Office of Student Activities and Leadership Development. The Signal has been the college's newspaper since 1885 and wins awards almost annually. The Lion's Eye is the literary magazine on campus, distributed each semester and funded by the Student Activity Fee. Lions Television (LTV), founded in the spring of 2008, is TCNJ's first television network.

Campus attempts at providing non-alcohol-related social events for students are numerous, including both on and off-campus activities such as musical and comedic performances. The College Union Board (CUB) sponsors visits by celebrities as well as movie showings, all of which are funded by the Student Finance Board. To help kick off each new fall semester, "LollaNoBooza" is held. This is a large carnival-like affair meant to be an alternative to a night of partying. In April 2011, the College Union Board, Student Finance Board, and Student Government held their first annual Spring Carnival entitled "fun.ival" (fun.ival was named after live performers, fun.).

Greek life has a foothold at TCNJ, with roughly 25% of the student population belonging to a fraternity or sorority. The Greek organizations are governed by the Inter-Greek Council, whose purpose is to unite the members of the Greek community in spirit of mutual interest. It organizes and governs activities, highlights goals and opens lines of communication between the members of the organizations and the rest of the campus community.  In order to join any Greek organization, students must have at least one semester's worth of TCNJ credits and be in good academic standing with a GPA of at least 2.2. The Inter-Greek Council recognizes 30 organizations; 16 sororities, 12 fraternities, and 3 coed organizations. 

The recognized Greek organizations at TCNJ are:

Famous Alumni: John Turner, member of Delta Zeta.

Brower Student Center

The Brower Student Center (BSC) is the student center on the campus. The BSC was originally built in 1976 and has continued to serve the students through the present day. The Brower Student Center seeks to provide on-campus activities for all the students of TCNJ as well as maintain partnerships within the community that accentuate the student and community experience. A game room is also located in the student center, complete with multiple pool tables, TVs with wiis connected, ping pong and other games.

The building is home to all of the student organizations on campus, as well as the dining facilities that are run by Sodexo Incorporated and a campus bookstore. All recognized student organizations have an office or cubicle, or at least a meeting area. Most of these are located on the second level, but there are a handful located elsewhere. The student-run newspaper, for example, has both its business office and production room in the basement.

The building was named after former president Clayton R. Brower, who served as president during the time that TCNJ was referred to as Trenton State College. His wife, Dorothy Brower, was an active volunteer in the surrounding community.

Renovations for the new Brower Student Center began in April 2015 and are expected to be finished in 2017.

Museums and exhibits

The College of New Jersey is home to the David Sarnoff Museum, formerly located at Princeton Junction. The collection detailing the life of NBC founder David Sarnoff is now located in Roscoe L. West Hall. Various art exhibits can be found in galleries at the Art and IMM building. The exhibits feature the work of student artists, professional artists and local artists. The exhibits are updated regularly.

Campus Media

Publications 
The Signal has been The College of New Jersey's student-run newspaper since 1855. It has won numerous awards, and has placed first many times in the General Excellence category (the highest category) for collegiate news publications at the New Jersey Press Association awards. The Signal is run almost entirely out of their office located on Forcina Hall's second floor.

TCNJ Magazine is another publication, covering both current campus life and alumni affairs. The Perspective, an openly left-leaning student news booklet, is the school's newest publication having been first published in 2009. The Perspective received funding from the Student Finance Board, but so far has no established publishing schedule (as opposed to other campus publications). On the literary side, The Lion's Eye and The Siren are both student-made magazines filled with poetry, prose and artwork by students. The Seal was TCNJ's yearbook since its first publication in 1911. However following the 2017 edition, the publication and student organization were discontinued due to low demand and incumbent debt.

Radio 
WTSR (91.3 FM) is the college's non-commercial radio station which services Mercer County and Bucks County, Pennsylvania while also broadcasting over the internet. The station began in 1958 as WTSC, but was approved for an FM licence in the fall of 1965. The station is fully student run and enlists the help of both students and community volunteers. The station offers traditional dayside programming while also offering a variety of specialty programming that consists of shows featuring folk/world, synth-pop, modern rock, metal, reggae, oldies, gospel, and more.

Television 
Lions Television (abbreviated 'LTV') has been the student run television station on campus since 2008. Its studio and office are located in Kendall Hall and its content can be viewed online or on campus televisions on channel 2-2. The station board includes six producers (sports, news, music, comedy, pop culture and game show) who film, direct and edit content both in studio and around the school's campus.

Athletics

The College of New Jersey has 22 varsity teams and 18 club teams, including multiple programs that have achieved national recognition and success. Its varsity teams are members of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) and compete in Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The college's mascot is "Roscoe the Lion."

TCNJ's varsity teams are the top combined first- and second-place finishers of all 424 Division III schools in the nation over more than 25 years.

The women's lacrosse team has played in the championship game 16 out of 20 possible times, winning 11 (though the 1992 title was later vacated) and qualifying for the NCAA tournament 21 consecutive times through 2005, highlighted by a 93–1 record from 1991 to 1996. The women's field hockey team has won 10 Division III crowns in 14 championship appearances (both twice as many as any other school).

The TCNJ wrestling team has placed in the top 20 nationally for 30 consecutive years, including 5 national championships (1979, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1987), 5 runner-up finishes, and numerous finishes in the top 5.

The track and field teams have also dominated the New Jersey Athletic Conference. Since the NJAC title was first contested in 1997, TCNJ has won the title — both indoor and outdoor — each year.

The main athletic facility, Lions Stadium, holds 6,000 spectators and is home to the football, field hockey, lacrosse, and intramural teams. The stadium opened in the fall of 1984 and featured the first North American installation of AstroTurf's vertical-drainage system. This system prevents the "duck-pond effect" commonly seen with other artificial surfaces. In 2008, reports indicated that the turf contained higher-than-acceptable levels of lead and was subsequently removed. Now, the stadium is furnished with Tiger Turf, which is the first installation of the Trophy Turf in the United States. The stadium has hosted multiple NCAA tournaments and championship games, as well as the annual Special Olympics New Jersey and the annual USSBA Central Jersey Regional marching band competition.

The school's club ice hockey team have found success as a member of multiple American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) conferences since the group's creation in 1977. The team currently plays in the Colonial State College Hockey Conference where it began play as a founding member in 2014, has won four conference championships (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020), and earned bids to the ACHA Southeast Regional Tournament. Prior to this as a member of the Great Northeast Collegiate Hockey Conference the team won two conference titles in 2012 and 2014.

Men's sports
Baseball
Basketball
Cross country
Football
Soccer
Swimming and diving
Tennis
Track and field
Wrestling

Women's sports
Basketball
Cross country
Field hockey
Lacrosse
Soccer
Softball
Swimming and diving
Tennis
Track and field

Club sports
Baseball
Basketball (women)
Bowling
Crew
Cheerleading
Ice hockey
Lacrosse (men and women)
Rugby (men and women)
Soccer (men and women)
Softball
Swimming
Tennis
Ultimate frisbee
Unified sports (Special Olympics and TCNJ students)
Volleyball (men and women)

Notable alumni

Politics and government
 Christopher J. Brown, Republican Party politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2012 to 2016, representing the 8th legislative district.
 Jim Florio (B.A., 1962), Governor of New Jersey, 1990–1994.
 Joe Howarth (B.S.), politician who has represented the 8th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2016.
 Dick LaRossa, Republican Party politician who served two terms in the New Jersey Senate, from 1994 to 2000, where he represented the 15th Legislative District.
 Gerald Luongo (B.A., M.A.), Republican Party politician who has served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1998 to 2000.
 Joseph R. Malone, Republican Party politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1993 until 2012, representing the 30th legislative district.
 Joseph A. Mussomeli (B.A., 1975), is an American diplomat. Current Ambassador to Slovenia as well as former Ambassador to Cambodia and the Philippines.
 Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, politician who represents the 15th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly.
 Christopher Smith (B.S., 1975), United States Congressman representing New Jersey's 4th congressional district.
 William A. Stevens, jurist and Republican Party politician who served as President of the New Jersey Senate and New Jersey Attorney General.
 Connie Wagner, politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2008 to 2013, where she represented the 38th Legislative District.
 Madaline A. Williams, first African American woman elected to the New Jersey Legislature.

Arts and entertainment

 Holly Black (B.A. in English, 1994), author of The Spiderwick Chronicles series: Valiant: A Modern Tale of Faerie; Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale; and Ironside: A Modern Faery's Tale, among others.
 Jay Black, stand-up comic and screenwriter,
 Sheila Callaghan (B.A. in English, 1995), award-winning playwright and screenwriter.
 Stephen Dadaian, electric and classical guitarist.
 Jeff Feuerzeig, film director and screenwriter best known for The Devil and Daniel Johnston.
 Tom Kraeutler, home improvement broadcast journalist and author.
 Geraldine Clinton Little, poet
 The Lucas Bros, comedians, writers, actors best known for 22 Jump Street, Arrested Development and Lucas Bros Moving Co. 
 Adam Mamawala, stand-up comic
 Tom Scharpling, producer and radio host.
 Richard Sterban (born 1943), member of The Oak Ridge Boys.
 Ty Treadway, One Life to Live soap star and host of Soap Talk on Soapnet cable channel.
 Michael Vega, actor

Sports
 Terry Bradway, General Manager of the New York Jets from 2001–2006.
 Melanie Balcomb, Head Women's Basketball Coach at Vanderbilt University.
 Greg Grant, former NBA player.
 Eric Hamilton, American football coach.
 Gene Hart (B.A., 1952), Hockey Hall of Fame broadcaster and former play-by-play voice of the Philadelphia Flyers.
 Tom McCarthy, radio play-by-play voice of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Others
Lori Alhadeff, activist
David L. Richards, Associate Professor of Political Science and Human Rights at the University of Connecticut.
 Richard A. Swanson, organizational theorist and Distinguished Research Professor of Human Resource Development and the Sam Lindsey Chair at the University of Texas at Tyler, known for his synthesis work on the financial research related to human resource development.
 Geralyn Wolf (M.A., 1971), Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island.
 Julianna White, holds the title of Miss New Jersey USA 2011.
Andrew Rausa, (B.S.A.), works for the Advertising & Privacy Counsel for Facebook and was named in Forbes 30 Under 30 for Law & Policy in 2017.
Kevin Gabauer, co-founder of Fat Shack, a late-night food company that was featured on Shark Tank.
Tom Armenti, co-founder of Fat Shack, a late-night food company that was featured on Shark Tank.

Notable faculty

 Juda Bennett – English 
Celia Chazelle – History
 Roy A. Clouser – Philosophy
 Ellen G. Friedman – English and Women's & Gender Studies
 James A. Graham – Psychology
 Jean Graham – English
 Nancy Hingston – Mathematics
 Xinru Liu – History
 Catie Rosemurgy – Creative Writing
 Jess Row – English
 Donna Shaw – Journalism

See also

List of American state universities
Trenton Computer Festival

Notes

References

External links

 
 TCNJ Athletics website

 
Category:American Association of State Colleges and Universities
Category:Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union
Category:Educational institutions established in 1855
Category:Ewing Township, New Jersey
Category:Universities and colleges in Mercer County, New Jersey