Stockton marks decade as a university

The state welcomed a new university 10 years ago.

The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey officially became Stockton University on Feb. 18, 2015.

The anniversary gave Stockton University a chance to look back on the changes a decade made.

• One new campus. Stockton broke ground in Atlantic City's Lower Chelsea section April 2017, with the new campus opening September 2018. Now known as the city's University District, Stockton Atlantic City consists of two residential buildings for students — Kesselman and Parkview halls — and the John F. Scarpa Academic Building on the former site of the old Atlantic City High School. The latest addition was Parkview Hall, which opened in 2023.
• Two new science buildings on the Galloway campus. In 2018, a new Health Sciences Center and a second Unified Science Center opened, adding almost 100,000 square feet of classroom space and labs. The John F. Scarpa Health Sciences Center includes Sustainability and Exercise Sciences labs. Unified Science Center 2 features a greenhouse, anatomy and physiology labs and a vivarium.
• Three presidents. Herman J. Saatkamp Jr. finished his term as Stockton’s fourth president in 2015. Under his leadership, Stockton received approval to change its name and official designation from that of a college to a university. His successor, Harvey Kesselman, was president of Stockton from 2015 to 2023. Following Kesselman is Joe Bertolino, who took the university’s top job in 2023.
• Five new spots on campus for students to gather. Over the past 10 years, new areas on campus have been created for students, including the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Center (2019), an esports gaming facility (2019), the Military and Veteran Success Center (2019), the Multicultural Center (2023) and the Meditation Room (2023).
• Seven new undergraduate and seven new graduate degree programs were added to Stockton’s more than 160 areas of study. The seven new undergraduate degree programs include Africana Studies, Digital Studies, Education and Human Development, Entrepreneurship, Esports Management, Exercise Science and Hemp and Cannabis Business Management. The seven graduate degree programs include masters of science in accounting, coastal zone management, and data science and strategic analytics, master of arts in counseling, master of business administration in healthcare administration and leadership, doctor of nursing practice and the doctor of education in organizational leadership.

For more on the university’s 10th anniversary, see Stockton Celebrates 10th Anniversary of becoming a University.

 Courtesy Stockton University  

    Provided/Stockton University Atlantic City Campus June 2018