Harvey Kesselman's career came full circle Thursday.
The Stockton University president oversaw the groundbreaking of the school's Island Campus in Atlantic City on Thursday right across the street from where he began student teaching 4½ decades ago, at the old Atlantic City High School on Albany Avenue.
The school's former site is now home to signs heralding the upcoming Gateway Project, a $220 million public-private partnership that is expected to bring jobs, businesses and hope to the financially troubled former gambling mecca.
The anchor will be Stockton's Island Campus, which will include student housing for 533 that will overlook the ocean, a 56,000-square-foot, three-story academic building and 15,000 square feet of retail space.
Atlantic City's problems happened because people stopped trying, thinking that the glory days of the casinos wouldn't end, Gov. Chris Christie said. But that businesses like Hard Rock and South Jersey Gas are returning shows that the city is on the rise, he said.
"This city is an extraordinary asset both for the state and for the entire region and it was neglected," the governor said.
"Today we take the first steps of a new journey," Kesselman said. "One that recommits our intellectual promise to the residents of this city and all southern New Jersey."
He commended Christie and Senate President Steve Sweeney for their contributions to higher education in the state.
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"It's going to be both great for Stockton and great for Atlantic City," state Sen. Jim Whelan said of the new campus.
The university's first full comeback into the city will be May 12, with graduation at Boardwalk Hall.
The university is already well-established in the city, with the Dante Hall Theater, Carnegie Center and Noyes Arts Garage.
