Rutgers University

• 1. Colonial Foundations And Early History

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  On the 10th of November 1766, a royal charter signed by William Franklin established Queen's College in New Jersey. The document named the institution after Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and created both a college and a preparatory grammar school. Ministers of the Dutch Reformed Church sought autonomy from Anglican influence when they founded this school two decades after Princeton University opened its doors. Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh served as the first president and guided the early curriculum focused on language, divinity, and useful arts. Classes began in 1771 within a former tavern known as the Sign of the Red Lion located in New Brunswick. The original building housed a single sophomore and a handful of first-year students taught by one instructor. By 1774, the college granted its first degree to Matthew Leydt. Financial struggles forced the institution to close for extended periods during the War of 1812 era. In 1808, trustees raised $12,000 to reopen the school and broke ground on Old Queens designed by architect John McComb Jr. Ira Condict laid the cornerstone for that structure on the 27th of April 1809. The college shared facilities with the New Brunswick Theological Seminary which relocated from Brooklyn in 1809. All three institutions fit inside Old Queens until the seminary moved away in 1856.

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• 2. Evolution Into A Public Research University

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  Queen's College received its name change to Rutgers College in 1825 following a substantial gift from Colonel Henry Rutgers. The board honored him because he epitomized Christian ethics and stabilized finances during uncertain times. He donated a $200 bell still hanging from the cupola of Old Queen's and a $5,000 bond that placed the college on sound financial footing. The institution became land-grant under the Morrill Act of 1862 resulting in the establishment of the Rutgers Scientific School. This school featured departments of agriculture engineering and chemistry before expanding into separate colleges over decades. Rutgers created the New Jersey College for Women in 1918 and the School of Education in 1924. The collection of schools officially became Rutgers University in 1924 while Rutgers College continued as a liberal arts component. State designation occurred through acts of the New Jersey Legislature in 1945 and 1956 making it the State University of New Jersey. The newly designated state university absorbed the University of Newark in 1946 and then the College of South Jersey in 1950. These institutions became Rutgers University, Newark and Rutgers University, Camden respectively. A 1970 vote admitted women into Rutgers College after decades of separation. In 1982 President Edward J. Bloustein centralized liberal arts faculties into one Faculty of Arts and Sciences. The 2007 merger ended the 241-year history of Rutgers College as a distinct institution by combining five residential colleges with the new School of Arts and Sciences.

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• 3. Campus Expansion And Geographic Divisions

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  The historic core remains along College Avenue at the College Avenue Campus in New Brunswick within Rutgers University, New Brunswick. This campus includes Douglass campus and Cook campus primarily located in the city of New Brunswick. Busch and Livingston campuses sit on the north side of the Raritan River in Piscataway. Additional facilities exist throughout downtown New Brunswick including buildings scattered across six municipalities. Two other major campuses operate at Rutgers University, Newark and Rutgers University, Camden. Oceanographic research facilities are located at the Jersey Shore alongside these main sites. As of Fall 2023, over 69,000 students enrolled across three campuses making it one of the largest universities in the United States. The New Brunswick-Piscataway campus houses 40,434 students including 31,593 undergraduates and 8,841 graduate students. Newark campus serves 12,011 students comprising 7,666 undergraduates and 4,345 graduates. Camden campus enrolls 6,343 students split between 4,708 undergraduates and 1,635 graduates. An inter-campus bus system transports six million passengers annually connecting these geographically separated locations. The Rutgers bus service ranks as the second-largest operating bus system in New Jersey providing more than 70,000 passenger trips per day. Students can rent apartments or houses off-campus within cities like New Brunswick where most seek housing options.

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• 4. Academic Excellence And Research Impact

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  Selman Waksman discovered several antibiotics including actinomycin clavacin streptothricin grisein neomycin fradicin candicidin and candidin in his laboratory at Rutgers. He received the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1952 after discovering streptomycin with graduate student Albert Schatz. Streptomycin became the first antibiotic applied to cure tuberculosis. Rutgers developed water-soluble sustained release polymers tetraploids robotic hands artificial bovine insemination and ceramic tiles for the Space Shuttle heat shield. The university hosts the RCSB Protein Data bank cohosted with the San Diego Supercomputer Center serving bioinformaticists worldwide. The Rutgers University Cell and DNA Repository holds awards worth over $57.8 million from the National Institutes of Health. One fund supports genetic studies of mental disorders while another investigates causes of digestive liver kidney diseases and diabetes. Rutgers is classified among R1 Doctoral Universities indicating very high research activity on its main campus. Newark and Camden campuses hold R2 classification denoting high research activity. The institution offers more than 100 distinct bachelor programs 100 masters degrees and 80 doctoral professional degree programs across 175 academic departments. Faculty members number 9,000 teaching undergraduate students exceeding 45,000 plus over 20,000 graduate and professional students.

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• 5. Student Life And Campus Traditions

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  The annual Dance Marathon involves hundreds of dancers pledging to raise funds and remain standing for 32 hours since 1999. In 2015 the marathon collected $692,046 for the Embrace Kids Foundation which supports children with cancer and blood disorders. Over two decades starting in 1998 the event raised $5.8 million total for that foundation. Students participate in one of the largest student-run philanthropic events in New Jersey through this tradition. The Political Intelligencer and New Jersey Adviser began publication at Queen's College in 1783 as the first college newspaper in the United States. It ceased operation in 1785 but continues today via The Daily Targum established in 1869 as the second-oldest college newspaper published nationally. Poet Joyce Kilmer and economist Milton Friedman served as editors during its history. Rutgers hosts over 700 student organizations including chapters of many Greek organizations. Chapters of Zeta Psi and Delta Phi were organized at Rutgers as early as 1845. The Alpha Rho chapter of Chi Psi fraternity founded at Rutgers College in 1879 was the first to own a house purchased in 1887. Five vocal ensembles exist including Voorhees Choir Kirkpatrick Choir Glee Club University Choir and Rutgers Concert Choir. Grease Trucks serve traditional grill fare and Middle-Eastern specialties at various locations on the New Brunswick campus.

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• 6. Birthplace Of Intercollegiate Football

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  The first intercollegiate football game occurred between Rutgers and Princeton on the 6th of November 1869 on College Field behind present-day College Avenue Gymnasium. A score of 6 runs to Princeton's 4 marked the victory for Rutgers players who wore scarlet-colored turbans and handkerchiefs. These items distinguished them from the losing Princeton team which was chased from New Brunswick by one account. Twenty-five or so Rutgers players fashioned turbans from scarlet scarves representing their only concession to uniforms. The board of trustees officially made scarlet the school color in 1900 after students had sought orange citing Dutch heritage. In 1925 the mascot changed to Chanticleer a fighting rooster from Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Ozzie Nelson served as quarterback from 1924 to 1926 while editing the student humor magazine called Chanticleer. The choice faced ridicule due to associations with being chicken before changing again in 1955 to Scarlet Knight. Harvey Harman bought the first Scarlet Knight costume for the 1955 season marking his final year as coach. Today Sir Henry appears at games wearing the costumed mascot. Four schools including Yale Columbia and long-time rival Princeton met at Fifth Avenue Hotel in Manhattan on the 19th of October 1873 to establish rules governing intercollegiate competition.

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