Fairleigh Dickinson University () is a

private university Private universities and private colleges are higher education institutions not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. However, they often receive tax breaks, public student loans, and government grants. Depending on the count ...

with its main campuses in

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 ...

, located in Madison / Florham Park and in Teaneck / Hackensack. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University offers more than 100 degree programs. In addition to two campuses in New Jersey, the university has a campus in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, British Columbia, Canada, one in Wroxton, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, and an online platform. Fairleigh Dickinson University is New Jersey's largest private institution of higher education, with over 12,000 students.

History

Fairleigh Dickinson University was founded as the Fairleigh Dickinson Junior College in 1942 as a

junior college A junior college is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, a ...

by Peter Sammartino and wife Sally, and was named after early benefactor Colonel Fairleigh S. Dickinson, co-founder of Becton Dickinson. Its original campus was located in Rutherford, New Jersey. By 1948, Fairleigh Dickinson Junior College expanded its curriculum to offer a four-year program when the

GI Bill The G.I. Bill, formally the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, but the te ...

and veterans' money encouraged it to redesignate itself as Fairleigh Dickinson College. In that same year, the school received accreditation from the

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, also referred to as the Middle States Association or MSA, is an accreditor in the United States. Historically, it has accredited schools in the Mid-Atlantic states region of the northeas ...

. In 1953, Fairleigh Dickinson College merged with the 400-student Bergen Junior College, acquiring its campus in

Teaneck, New Jersey Teaneck () is a Township (New Jersey), township in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. The town is know for their pancake throwing contest held ...

. At the time of the merger, Fairleigh Dickinson had more than 2,800 students and would be able to accommodate a total enrollment of 4,000 with its two campuses. In 1956, the institution was recognized as Fairleigh Dickinson University by the New Jersey State Board of Education. In 1958, the university acquired the former Twombly-Vanderbilt estate in Madison and Florham Park, New Jersey, to serve as its third campus.About Florham Campus
, Fairleigh Dickinson University. Accessed October 1, 2021. Fairleigh Dickinson University is a member of the

National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities The National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) located in Washington D.C. It is an organization of private American colleges and universities. Founded in 1976, it is made up of over 1,000 indepe ...

. Landscape architect

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822 – August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, Social criticism, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the U ...

, the designer of Central Park, had designed the landscape for the Twombly-Vanderbilt estate (now the Florham Campus). The main house of the Twombly-Vanderbilt estate, now Hennessy Hall, was designed by architectural firm

McKim, Mead, and White McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm based in New York City. The firm came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in ''fin de siècle'' New York. The firm's founding partners, Cha ...

in the Georgian Revival style. The mansion was completed in 1897 and was modeled after the wing of

Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace is a Listed building, Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Opened to the public, the palace is managed by Historic Royal ...

designed by architect Sir Christopher Wren. The Friends of Florham, founded in 1990 by Emma Joy Dana, university librarian James Fraser, and a group of friends and colleagues works with the mission of advising and assisting the administration and board of trustees in the care, maintenance, and preservation of the Twombly Estate, known as "Florham".

Presidents

* indicates those who served only as an acting or interim president.

Campuses

Fairleigh Dickinson University has four campuses: two in

( Madison / Florham Park and Teaneck / Hackensack), one in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, and one in

South East England South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, regions of England that are in the ITL 1 statistical regions of England, top level category for Statistics, statistical purposes. It consists of the nine counties of england, ...

, as well as an online platform.

Florham Campus

The Florham Campus is located in the suburban towns of Madison and Florham Park, New Jersey, on the grounds of the former Florham estate of Hamilton McKown Twombly (1849–1910) and his wife, Florence Adele Vanderbilt Twombly (1854–1952), a member of the wealthy

Vanderbilt family The Vanderbilt family is an American family who gained prominence during the Gilded Age. Their success began with the shipping and railroad empires of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and the family expanded into various other areas of industry and philanth ...

. The Florham Campus finished construction on the John and Joan Monninger Center for Learning and Research. It opened during the spring 2013 semester. Student enrollment at the Florham Campus consists of over 2,757 undergraduates coupled with 690 graduate students giving a total of 3,417 students. The full-time equivalence (FTE) for undergraduates on the campus is 2,481. The FTE for graduates on campus is 796.

Metropolitan Campus

The Metropolitan Campus, close to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and spanning the

Hackensack River The Hackensack River is a river, about 45 miles (72 km) long, in the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, emptying into Newark Bay, a back chamber of New York Harbor. The watershed of the river includes part of the suburban ar ...

in Teaneck and Hackensack, New Jersey, has a greater focus on business and professional majors compared to the Florham Campus. The Metropolitan Campus has 5,734 undergraduates and 1,748 graduate students, with an undergraduate full-time equivalence (FTE) of 3,003. 21% of Metropolitan Campus students are minority and international students. Approximately one thousand students live on campus in the residence halls.

Wroxton College

Farleigh Dickinson University's Wroxton College is located in Wroxton,

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

, in

. When Fairleigh Dickinson University acquired Wroxton Abbey in 1965, FDU became the first American university to own and operate a campus, Wroxton College, outside of the United States. Although Wroxton College dates to the 18th century, the housing has been modernized.

Vancouver Campus

FDU's Vancouver Campus is located at 842 Cambie Street and 89 West Georgia Street in

. It opened in 2007.

Former campuses

In addition to the present campuses, Fairleigh Dickinson University previously operated campuses in Rutherford, New Jersey (where the university was founded in 1942) and in Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Operations on the Rutherford Campus were merged with the Metropolitan Campus in 1993. The Rutherford Campus was sold to Felician College in 1997. The West Indies Laboratory which opened in 1972 was damaged beyond repair during Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and was closed shortly afterwards in 1990.

Academics

Fairleigh Dickinson's national student body consists of a total 10,899 students, 8,461 of whom are undergraduates, with the remaining 2,438 being graduate students with a full-time equivalence (FTE) of 7,434, making it the largest private institution in the state of New Jersey. FDU has over 1,100 international students from approximately 17 countries around the world ranking it 15th nationally among their Carnegie peer group. The majority of international students attend the Metropolitan Campus and FDU's Vancouver Campus, which was founded primarily to educate international students. The Vancouver Campus is the first U.S.–owned and operated institution in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

to receive University status. The university is ranked 44th by U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges 2022 Regional University rankings (North). Fairleigh Dickinson consists of two academic colleges: the Maxwell Becton College of Arts and Sciences and the Silberman College of Business, along with seven independent schools: the Gildart Hasse School of Computer Sciences and Engineering; the Peter Sammartino School of Education; the International School of Hospitality, Sports, and Tourism Management; the Henry P. Becton School of Nursing and Allied Health; the School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences; the School of Psychology and Counseling; and the School of Public and Global Affairs.

Becton College of Arts and Sciences

Fairleigh Dickinson's Becton College offers more than 60 undergraduate majors to its full and part-time students.

Silberman College of Business

The Silberman College of Business is a tri-campus college of Fairleigh Dickinson University. It offers graduate and undergraduate degrees at the Florham Campus, the Metropolitan campus, and offers bachelor's degree studies in Business Management and Information Technology at the FDU-Vancouver campus. FDU offers

AACSB The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) is an American professional and accreditation organization. It was founded as the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business in 1916 to provide accreditation to business ...

-accredited graduate and undergraduate business degrees through its Silberman College of Business. Fairleigh Dickinson's Silberman College of Business was ranked as one of the top 295 business schools in the country for 2014 by The Princeton Review. Fairleigh Dickinson University's International School of Hospitality and Tourism Management features the US national headquarters of the international gastronomic society

Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs La Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs () is an international gastronomy, gastronomic society founded in Paris in 1950. It is one of the oldest gastronomic societies in the world. The organization is named after the French Royal Guild of Go ...

located at the Chaîne House on the Florham Campus.

Graduate studies

Graduate programs are offered at all four of the university's campuses, and a number are offered solely through online delivery, including a postdoctoral MS in clinical psychopharmacology (MSCP) through the School of Psychology and Counseling. Graduate studies include the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) offered by the School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in clinical psychology, the Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) in school psychology, and a large number of master's degree programs, including the Master of Public Administration (MPA) and an MA in global affairs offered to nearby consular and diplomatic staff.

FDU School of Pharmacy

In 2012, Fairleigh Dickinson opened New Jersey's first school of pharmacy associated with a private higher education institution, at the Florham Campus. It is the second pharmacy school in New Jersey and the first to open in the state in over 120 years.

FDU School of Public and Global Affairs

After a major gift from alumnus James Orefice in 2017, Fairleigh Dickinson formed a new graduate School of Public and Global Affairs comprising the Master of Public Administration, the Master of Administrative Science, the M.A. in Global Affairs, the M.S. in Cyber and Homeland Security Administration, the Master of Arts in Higher Education Administration, and the survey research group, PublicMind.

FDU Libraries

The university maintains libraries on all four of its campuses. Between the two libraries and one archive located at FDU's Florham and Metropolitan campuses, the university library system holds over 450,000 titles. The Florham Campus library is part of the John and Joan Monninger Center for Learning and Research. A portion of the library is housed in the old Orangerie of the Twombly-Vanderbilt estate which was built in the 1890s by McKim, Mead, and White. The Metropolitan campus features the Metropolitan Library and the North Jersey Heritage Center (an archival collection of New Jersey books, documents, maps, newspapers and reference material, as well as FDU history). The New Jersey collection began in 1961 when FDU became one of the earliest participants in the New Jersey Document Program listed as fourth in precedence out of 80 depositories behind the Council of State Government, Rutgers University and the NJ State Library. The Metropolitan Library holds the

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

Archive, a collection of over 230 movies from the Columbia Pictures Studios on 16mm film. The archive was given by Columbia in the 1980s to FDU through the work of Jack Kells, FDU alum and former Columbia executive.

Athletics

In intercollegiate athletics, the Metropolitan Campus competes in

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

, while the Florham Campus competes in Division III, making it one of only a few schools in the United States to field both Division I and Division III teams. The teams at the Metropolitan Campus are known as the Knights, while the Florham Campus teams are known as the Devils. On March 17, 2023, the Fairleigh Dickinson University men's basketball team became the second team in history to upset a 1 seed as a 16 seed against Purdue in the 2023 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.

Florham Campus – NCAA Division III

The FDU Florham Campus sports teams are called the Devils. They are in NCAA Division III and the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) and they compete in the

Middle Atlantic Conferences The Middle Atlantic Conferences (MAC) is an umbrella organization of three List of NCAA conferences, intercollegiate athletic conferences that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division III, Division III. The 1 ...

' (MAC) MAC Freedom. Their mascot is Ian the Devil. The women's basketball team won the national collegiate basketball championship in the year 2013–2014. The Women's basketball team also made it to the NCAA tournament four times in a row from the year 2012 to 2016.

PublicMind

Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind is an independent research group that conducts

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

opinion polling and other research on politics, society, popular culture,

consumer behavior Consumer behaviour is the study of individuals, groups, or organisations and all activities associated with the purchase, use and disposal of goods and services. It encompasses how the consumer's emotions, attitudes, and preferences affe ...

and

economic trend Economic trend may refer to: *all the economic indicators that are the subject of economic forecasting **see also: econometrics *general trends in the economy, see: economic history Economic history is the study of history using methodologica ...

s. PublicMind associates undertake scientific survey research for corporations, non-profits, and government agencies as well as for the public interest, as well as information regarding the FDU community as a whole.

Notable alumni

* Stephanie Adams (1970–2018), model, writer, and murderer * Alejandro Bedoya (born 1987), professional soccer player (did not graduate) * Brenda Blackmon, television news anchor *

Ron Blomberg Ronald Mark Blomberg (born August 23, 1948), nicknamed "Boomer", is an American former professional baseball player and minor league manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a designated hitter, first baseman, and right fielder. He played ...

(born 1948), professional baseball player *

Lisa Blunt Rochester Lisa LaTrelle Blunt Rochester (née Blunt; born February 10, 1962) is an American politician serving since 2025 as the junior United States senator from Delaware. From 2017 to 2025, she served as the U.S. representative for . A member of the ...

(born 1962),

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

politician * Mensun Bound (born 1953), British marine archaeologist * Ron Brill, co-founder of

Home Depot The Home Depot, Inc., often referred to as Home Depot, is an American multinational corporation, multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportat ...

* Tomer Chencinski (born 1984), Israeli-Canadian professional soccer player *

Katlyn Chookagian Katlyn Cerminara (; born December 28, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist. She formerly competed in the Bantamweight division and currently competes in the women's Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC ...

(born 1988), professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

* Richard Codey (born 1946),

politician * Darnell Edge (born 1997), professional basketball player in the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl (, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is a professional basketball league in Israel and the highest level of basketball in the country. The league's name is abbreviated as either BSL ...

* Nicholas Felice (born 1927), New Jersey politician * Marcus Gaither (1961–2020), American-French professional basketball player * Charles A. Gargano (born 1934), former U.S. Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago and chairman of the

Empire State Development Corporation Empire State Development (ESD) is the umbrella organization for New York's two principal economic development public-benefit corporations, the New York State Urban Development Corporation (UDC) and the New York Job Development Authority (JDA). ...

* Gilbert M. Gaul (born 1951), Pulitzer Prize winning journalist *

John Gottman John Mordechai Gottman (born April 26, 1942) is an American psychologist and professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Washington. His research focuses on divorce prediction and marital stability through relationship analyses. Gottman ...

(born 1942), professor emeritus of Psychology at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

* Reinaldo Marcus Green (born 1981), filmmaker and writer * Seth Greenberg (born 1956), college basketball coach and television sports personality * Mike Hall (born 1989), bassist * Sung-Mo Kang, president of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology * Jim Keogh, (born 1948), author * Eleanor Kieliszek (1925–2017; B.A. 1979), politician, first woman chosen as Mayor of Teaneck, New Jersey. * Garry Kitchen (born 1955; B.S. 1980), video game pioneer * Stewart Krentzman, president and CEO of Oki Data Americas, Inc. *

John Legere John Legere (born June 4, 1958) is an American businessman, former chief executive officer (CEO) and president of T-Mobile US. He previously worked for AT&T, Dell, and Global Crossing. He resigned as CEO following the approval of the merger of T- ...

(born 1958), CEO of

T-Mobile T-Mobile is the brand of telecommunications by Deutsche Telekom Deutsche Telekom AG (, ; often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a partially state-owned German telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn and the largest telec ...

* William Leiss, president of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...

from 1999 to 2001 and Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

* Jacob Lissek (born 1992), professional soccer player *

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Beatle ...

(born 1953), professional football playerJohnson, Roy S.; and Fiffer, Steve
"Sports World Specials; Giant Scholars"
, ''

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 ...

'', June 1, 1987. Accessed July 27, 2022. "Yet, there stood 34-year-old George Martin yesterday afternoon in cap and gown, with diploma in hand, proclaiming, 'this is the day I've been waiting for all of my life.'... Martin was among the 2,500 students who received bachelor's degrees from Fairleigh Dickinson University in a ceremony held at the Brendon Byrne Arena.... Martin and Williams are the first Giants to attain bachelor's degrees through the Degree Completion Program for Pro Athletes, which was started at F.D.U. in 1985." * Yahya Maroofi, Secretary General of the

Economic Cooperation Organization The Economic Cooperation Organization or ECO is a Eurasian political and economic intergovernmental organization that was founded in 1985 in Tehran by the leaders of Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey. It provides a platform to discuss ways to improve ...

* D. Bennett Mazur (1924–1994), New Jersey politician * Danielle McEwan (born 1991), professional bowler * John J. Mooney (1930–2020), co-inventor of the three-way

catalytic converter A catalytic converter part is an vehicle emissions control, exhaust emission control device which converts toxic gases and pollutants in exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine into less-toxic pollutants by catalysis, catalyzing a redox ...

and co-winner of National Medal of Technology * Vince Naimoli (1937–2019), founder and chair of the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

* Peggy Noonan (born 1950), columnist, author, and speechwriter for

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

* Christine O'Donnell (born 1969), 2010 Republican nominee for U.S. Senator from Delaware * Gregory Olsen (born 1945), entrepreneur and astronaut * Mel Schrieberg (1942–2017), co-founder of Election.com, running the only major public sector election ever run on the Internet, the Arizona Democratic primary in March 2000 * John Spencer, actor (did not graduate) * Dennis Strigl (born 1946), president and COO of

Verizon Communications Verizon Communications Inc. ( ), is an American telecommunications company headquartered in New York City. It is the world's second-largest telecommunications company by revenue and its mobile network is the largest wireless carrier in the ...

* Stephen Spiro, Vietnam War opponent and conscientious objector who was pardoned by Gerald Ford * Guy Talarico, New Jersey politician * Rahshon Turner (born 1975), professional basketball player * Jeff Van Drew (born 1953), New Jersey politician * Ben Weinman (born 1975), musician * Sara Whalen (born 1976), Olympic soccer player * Zygi Wilf (born 1950), billionaire real estate developer and owner of the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

football team * Perry Williams (born 1961), professional football player * Bill Willoughby (born 1957), professional basketball official * Darren Young (born 1983), professional wrestler * Gerald H. Zecker (born 1942), New Jersey politicianAssemblyman Gerald H. Zecker

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and ...

, backed up by the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

as of February 25, 1998. Accessed June 14, 2010. File:Playboy Centerfold Stephanie Adams.jpg, Stephanie Adams File:Ron Blomberg 1972.jpg,

File:Tomer Chencinski 1.jpg, Tomer Chencinski File:Darnell Edge FDU 01.jpg, Darnell Edge File:Peggy Noonan 1986.jpg, Peggy Noonan File:2024 Save the Core - Suicidal Tendencies - Ben Weinman - by 2eight - 9SC2087.jpg, Ben Weinman

References

External links

*
Athletics website
{{Authority control Universities and colleges established in 1942 Universities and colleges in Morris County, New Jersey Private universities and colleges in New Jersey Florham Park, New Jersey Hackensack, New Jersey Madison, New Jersey Teaneck, New Jersey Sports in Bergen County, New Jersey 1942 establishments in New Jersey Private universities and colleges in British Columbia Universities and colleges in Bergen County, New Jersey