Bloomfield College of Montclair State University is a

public college A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

in Bloomfield, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. It is chartered by the State of New Jersey and

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

by the

Middle States Commission on Higher Education The Middle States Commission on Higher Education, abbreviated as MSCHE and legally incorporated as the Mid-Atlantic Region Commission on Higher Education, is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit membership organization that performs peer evalua ...

. The school became part of Montclair State University starting in July 2023, before which it had been a private college affiliated with the

Presbyterian Church (USA) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PCUSA, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination in the Religion in the United States, United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States too. Its th ...

through the Synod of the Northeast. Bloomfield College is the only 4-year college in New Jersey recognized simultaneously as a Predominantly Black Institution, Hispanic Serving Institution, and Minority Serving Institution.

History

Bloomfield College was founded by the

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Christianity, Reformed Protestantism, Protestant tradition named for its form of ecclesiastical polity, church government by representative assemblies of Presbyterian polity#Elder, elders, known as ...

in 1868 as German Theological Seminary of

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, to train German-speaking ministers. It moved to Bloomfield in 1872 and became four-year college in 1923. In 1912 it absorbed the Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing, founded in 1912 in nearby Newark. The school's enrollment peaked in 2011. In October 2021, the school announced that it could close in 2022-2023 if it did not find financial help. In March 2022,

Montclair State University Montclair State University (MSU) is a public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Clifton and into Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, the second largest public un ...

announced that it would financially support the college until a merger was agreed upon. The merger was officially announced on October 28, 2022, under which the college would become Bloomfield College of Montclair State University. The merger was completed in July 2023.

Academics

The college offers primarily undergraduate studies, but it has added master's programs in Accounting, Fine Arts, and Education. The college is

by the

. Bloomfield College has approximately 1,598 students and about 65% of the students are commuters. Its gender composition is 63 percent female and 37 percent male. Its racial and ethnic composition is 48 percent black, 33 percent Hispanic, 9 percent white, and 2 percent Asian. Seventy-eight percent of the students were eligible for low-income Pell Grants. The academic staff consists of 60 full-time instructors and 120 part-time. Bloomfield College has a graduation rate of 33 percent. Median salary after attending ranged from $18,548 (BA, Visual and Performing Arts) to $77,966 (BS, Nursing). Median student debt ranged from $26,000 to $33,912. Two years after student loan repayment began, 11 percent were making progress. In its 2022 college rankings, '' U.S. News & World Report'' ranked Bloomfield College tied for 27th place for social mobility.

Athletics

Bloomfield College teams participate as a member of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

's Division II. The Bears are a member of the

Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (or CACC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Its twelve member institutions are located in the northeastern U ...

(CACC). Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, soccer, tennis, and track and field; while women's sports include basketball, bowling, cross country, soccer, softball, track and field, and volleyball.

Westminster Arts Center

Bloomfield College is home to the Westminster Arts Center.

Notable alumni

* C. Louis Bassano, politician * Ralph R. Caputo, politician *

Rupert Crosse Rupert Crosse (November 29, 1927 – March 5, 1973) was an American television and film actor noted as the first African American to receive a nomination for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award — for his role in the 1969 adaptation of Willi ...

, actor *

Sandra Bolden Cunningham Sandra Bolden Cunningham (born September 4, 1950) is an American Democratic Party politician, who served in the New Jersey State Senate from 2007 to 2024, where she represented the 31st Legislative District. She was sworn into office on Novemb ...

, politician *

Gage Daye Gage Daye (born June 11, 1989) is an American basketball player and coach. Following his college career with Bloomfield, he went on to play professionally in the United States, England and Australia. College career Daye played college basketbal ...

, professional basketball player *

Nacho Díez Ignacio "Nacho" Díez de la Faya (born 23 April 1996) is a Spanish professional basketball player. He is brother of Dani Díez, a Real Madrid basketball player. Basketball career Díez started his playing career in the Adecco Estudiantes, tea ...

, professional basketball player *

Ted Koffman Theodore 'Ted' S. Koffman (born October 28, 1944) is an American politician from Maine. A Democrat from Bar Harbor, Koffman served in the Maine House of Representatives from 2000 to 2008. He was unable to seek re-election in 2008 due to term-limit ...

, politician *

David Stergakos David Nelson Stergakos (; born 24 October 1956) is a Greek-American former professional basketball player. At a height of 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), he played at both the power forward and center positions. Early life and name Stergakos was bor ...

, professional basketball playerStaff
"Greeks Show Basketball Skill"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', November 18, 1987. Accessed July 25, 2018. "In the mid-1970s, Stergakos played four years with Bloomfield College in New Jersey, and in 1978, became a fourth-round draft pick of the Boston Celtics."

References

External links

*
Athletics website
{{Coord, 40.795, -74.195, region:US-NJ_type:edu, display=inline,title Bloomfield, New Jersey Universities and colleges established in 1868 Universities and colleges in Essex County, New Jersey 1868 establishments in New Jersey Universities and colleges affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) Private universities and colleges in New Jersey