Union College (New Jersey)
Union College (formerly Union County College) is a public community college in Union County, New Jersey. It was founded in 1933 as the first of New Jersey's public community colleges. The college has four campuses: Cranford, Elizabeth, Plainfield, and Scotch Plains. It is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. The college offers more than 80 programs leading to Associate in Arts, Associate in Science, and Associate in Applied Science degrees and certificate programs provided by the Continuing Education program. It also offers distance education classes. History The college opened as Union County Junior College on October 16, 1933, in Roselle, New Jersey, with 243 evening students. With massive numbers of people out of work, there was strong pressure to educate people as a way to provide jobs; one account suggests that the official who "established Union County Junior College" was the Union county schools superintendent, Arthur L. Johnson, who was seeking ways for people to find employment and better themselves. According to one source, it was the oldest community college in New Jersey. Still, the college was "pitifully underfinanced" and rented space from a local high school. Its initial budget was $17,000 for the entire school. Its