Stockton University

• 1. Founding And Naming History

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  In November 1968, New Jersey approved a $202.5 million capital construction bond issue with an earmarked $15 million designated for the construction of a new state college in Southern New Jersey. A 3,400-acre tract was selected for the campus in the heart of the New Jersey Pine Barrens in Galloway Township. The school's trustees narrowed down final name options as either "Southern Jersey State College", "South Jersey State College", "Atlantic State College", and "Jersey Shore State College" before settling on "South Jersey State College." However, the school quickly sought another name due to confusion between the new College and Rutgers College of South Jersey. The trustees considered naming the college after one of New Jersey's five Signatories of the Declaration of Independence; Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, and Abraham Clark, before settling on Stockton. The reason why Stockton was chosen was never disclosed, nor properly recorded, with the school launching an investigation as to why in 2017.

• 2. Campus Expansion And Relocation

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  In 1970, as construction began to run behind schedule, the trustees realized they needed an alternative location for the first class in 1971. They selected the historic Mayflower Hotel in Atlantic City as the temporary campus. Accreditation of Stockton State College by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools was first granted in December 1975. In 1993, the college's name was changed to the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. After the New Jersey Secretary of Higher Education approved Stockton's petition, the college was awarded university status and was officially renamed Stockton University on the 18th of February 2015. In the fall of 2017, Stockton University began constructing a new facility in the Chelsea neighborhood of Atlantic City. The addition was met with applause from local residents and community leaders, who hailed it as a redevelopment of the long-declining neighborhoods in Ward 5 of Atlantic City. The $220-million-campus opened in September 2018 and included a three-story academic center and apartment-style complex for student living called Kesselman Hall. Stockton University Atlantic City opened fall 2018 with more than 500 residential students and more than 1,800 students taking courses in the new Academic Center, built on the former site of Atlantic City High School.

• 3. Architectural And Environmental Design

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  The original linear campus was cited as one of New Jersey's ten "architectural treasures" by New Jersey Monthly (April 1999) for its International modernist style, designed in the late 1960s by Robert Geddes of Geddes Brecher Qualls Cunningham Architects. Generous use of glass opens views to the Pinelands setting. The noted architect Michael Graves designed the Arts and Sciences Building (1991, 1996) in a Post-Modernist style, with organic colors. In 2008, Stockton received the "Green Project of Distinction" award from Education Design Showcase for Housing V (six residence halls). Stockton is an environmentally friendly campus featuring a geothermal heat pump, fuel cells, and photovoltaic panels. In 2002, Stockton installed a 200 kW fuel cell, which provides just under 10% of the total energy for the campus; Stockton has the lowest energy cost per student among universities in New Jersey. An aquifer thermal energy storage system (ATES), the first of its kind in the United States, began operation in 2008. The ATES system reduces the amount of energy used to cool Stockton's newer buildings by storing the chill of winter air in the water and rock of an underground aquifer, and withdrawing it in the summer for cooling.

• 4. Athletic Achievements And Programs

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  Stockton athletics teams are nicknamed the Ospreys. Paul Lewis was the NCAA Division III 400-Meter Dash Champion in 1981. Two Olympic medalists held the position of athletic director at Stockton: Don Bragg (1960 pole vault gold) and G. Larry James (1968 4x400 relay gold and 400-meters silver). Men's basketball advanced to the NCAA Final Four in 1987 and 2009. Women's Soccer advanced to and hosted the NCAA Final Four in 1995. Men's Soccer advanced to the NCAA Final Four in 1999 and the Elite Eight in 2004. Jared Lewis was the NCAA Division III Triple Jump Champion in 2017 and 2018. Tiffany Masuhr was the NCAA Division III Women's Javelin Champion in 2005. The team is part of the NJAC in the majority of sports. In men's lacrosse they compete in the Coastal Lacrosse Conference. Club sports include: Bowling, Ice Hockey, Jiu Jitsu, Judo, Table Tennis, Fishing, Men's Rowing, Ultimate Frisbee, Fencing, Men's Volleyball, Co-Ed Weight Training, Quidditch, Golf, Scuba Diving, Co-Ed Tennis, and Esports.

• 5. Notable Faculty And Alumni

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  Stephen Dunn, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Creative Writing, received the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his collection of poems, Different Hours. University President Vera King Farris spoke at the Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust in 1999, hosted by the Prime Minister of Sweden and attended by 44 national heads of state. Larry James (1947, 2008), gold medalist at the 1968 Summer Olympics, was athletic director at Stockton for 28 years. Carol Rittner, Sisters of Mercy RSM, a Distinguished Professor of Holocaust & Genocide Studies, and considered one of the 50 greatest scholars on the Holocaust. She co-produced the Academy Award-nominated film The Courage to Care based on her book of the same name, and has authored or edited over 15 books. David Lester, a Distinguished Professor of Psychology, is one of the world's leading suicidologists. He is a scholar and author adept in many academic disciplines, with over 2,300 publications worldwide. Aimee Belgard, lawyer, politician, and judge. Christopher J. Connors, member of the New Jersey Senate. Sean Curran, 28th director of the United States Secret Service. Laurel Hester, police officer whose story was documented in Freeheld (2007), the winner of the Academy Award for Best Short Documentary and the feature film of the same name (2015). Santiago Solari, professional soccer player.

• 6. Controversies And Institutional Identity

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  Shortly after the toppling of the Robert E. Lee Monument in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the deadly aftermath of the Unite the Right rally, the school dismantled a bust of Richard Stockton on campus on the 25th of August 2017, partly due to Stockton's ownership of slaves, and partly because of a widespread flyer-spreading incident in favor of Unite the Right on campus at the same time. University leaders then announced they would make a special "contextual history exhibit" as the bust's new home with the school vowing to have an honest investigation into the prospect of a name change. Ultimately this was never done, and the bust was simply returned to its previous location by 2023. The university's president also announced that the university had already looked into changing its name for its 40th anniversary in 2009, but ultimately decided against it but that they were willing to have an "honest discussion" about a new name for its 50th anniversary in 2019. In June 2020, the board of trustees passed a resolution on "Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice at Stockton" asking the president to create a committee to discuss changing the name. The president declined to create such a committee but the Faculty Senate created a 30-person task force to do just that and look into more practical issues of a name change such as the university's built up cultural identity, reception, and cost. On the 7th of April 2023, university president Harvey Kesselman went on an interview with WPGG, unequivocally stating that there would be no name change and Stockton was the only signer imprisoned and starved by the British.