Ramapo College of New Jersey (RCNJ) is a

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 ...

liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on Undergraduate education, undergraduate study in the Liberal arts education, liberal arts of humanities and science. Such colleges aim to impart ...

Mahwah, New Jersey Mahwah is the northernmost and largest municipality by geographic area () in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 25,487, a decrease of 403 ...

. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. As of the fall 2021 semester, there were a total of 5,732 students enrolled at the college, including 576 graduate students and 11 doctorate students. The school has a "somewhat selective" acceptance rate.

History

In the late 19th century, the Ramapo Valley was developed for large estates by many wealthy families. Ramapo Valley is named after the Ramapough, a band of the

Lenape Indians The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

. Theodore Havemeyer and his family arrived in the area in the 1870s. Havemeyer, a founder of the American Sugar Company, purchased and renovated a home on the road that would become Route 202 and developed more than surrounding the mansion into a farm. In 1889 he had a second mansion built on the property for one of his daughters. That mansion and about of the original 1,000 were later purchased by

Stephen Birch Stephen Birch (March 24, 1872 – December 29, 1940) was an American mining executive who served as president of the Kennecott Copper Company, and would eventually control a major share of the world's copper production. Early life Stephen Bi ...

, president of the Kennecott Copper Company.Henry Bischoff, ''A History of Ramapo College of New Jersey: The First Quarter Century – 1971–1996'' (Mahwah: Ramapo College of New Jersey,1997). In 1968, the New Jersey Department of Higher Education authorized establishing a new state college in

Bergen County Bergen County is the List of counties in New Jersey, most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.suburbanization Suburbanization (American English), also spelled suburbanisation (British English), is a population shift from historic core cities or rural areas into suburbs. Most suburbs are built in a formation of (sub)urban sprawl. As a consequence ...

. The criteria for the new college's location were sufficient land for the construction of current needs and future expansion, and proximity to at least one major highway. The locations of existing public and private institutions in the state were also taken into consideration. The college was planned to serve economically deprived students from urban and rural areas, in addition to a full range of middle-class families. George Potter, an administrator at

Grand Valley State University Grand Valley State University (GVSU, GV, or Grand Valley) is a public university in Allendale Charter Township, Michigan, Allendale, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1960 as Grand Valley State College. Its main campus is situated on ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, was appointed the first President of the college before a location had been determined. After many board meetings, it was decided that the former Birch Estate in Mahwah would be the location for the new college. Although the land was farther north than originally intended for the campus, its proximity to Route 17 and mountainous surroundings made it an attractive site. The architects drew up plans for an L-shaped, glass-walled facility consisting of five two-story academic buildings connected by large entry spaces, with each building devoted to a particular department or division. The architects recommended this approach to allow for rapid construction of additional wings onto the various entry spaces, allowing quick expansion of the college. The former Havemeyer mansion was adapted as the president's house, and the former Birch Mansion was renovated to be used as the administration building of the college.

Academics

Ramapo College offers bachelor's degrees in the arts, business, the social and natural sciences, and the humanities, as well as in professional studies programs such as nursing and social work. Seven programs are offered leading to a master's degree: Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Social Work (MSW), Master of Arts in Educational Leadership (MAEL), Master of Science in Educational Technology (MSET), Master of Arts in Special Education (MASE), Master of Science in Nursing Education (MSN), and a Master of Science in Accounting (MSAC). The college also offers a physician assistant (B.S./M.S.) and physical therapy (B.S./D.P.T.) with the

University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) was a state-run health sciences institution with six locations in New Jersey. It was founded as the Seton Hall College of Medicine and Dentistry in 1954, and by the 1980s was both a ...

; a B.A./Master's degree program in Art Therapy with Caldwell University; a B.S./Doctor of Chiropractic with New York Chiropractic College; a B.S./D.D.S. and a B.S./D.M.D. with the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine; a B.S./Doctor of Optometry (O.D.) with SUNY State College of Optometry; and a B.S./Doctor of Podiatric Medicine through New York College of Podiatric Medicine (NYCPM). The five interdisciplinary schools include the Anisfield School of Business (Dean Edward Petkus), the School of Contemporary Arts (Dean Ken Goldstein), the School of Humanities and Global Studies (Dean Susan Hangen), the School of Social Science and Human Services (Dean Aaron Lorenz), and the School of Theoretical and Applied Science (Interim Dean Edward Saiff). The Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center, which opened in December 2022, provides assistance to law enforcement in solving cases including identification of human remains and determination of wrongful convictions, and offers a certificate program.

Accreditation

Ramapo College was established in 1968 as a state-supported, co-educational, four-year College for liberal arts, sciences, and professional studies. Ramapo 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 1975. Individual programs also received accreditation. The Social Work Program is accredited by the

Council on Social Work Education The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) is a nonprofit national association in the United States representing more than 2,500 individual members, as well as graduate and undergraduate programs of professional social work education. Founded in 1 ...

, the Chemistry Program is approved by the

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...

(ACS), the Nursing Program is accredited by the

National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission The National League for Nursing (NLN) is a national organization for faculty nurses and leaders in nurse education. It offers faculty development, networking opportunities, testing services, nursing research grants, and public policy initiativ ...

(NLNAC) and the New Jersey Board of Nursing, the Teacher Certification program is approved by the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) and the State of New Jersey, and the Anisfield School of Business is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (

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 ...

). Ramapo College is also a founding member of the

Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges The Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC) is a consortium of 30 Liberal arts college, public liberal arts colleges and universities in 27 states and one Canadian province. Established in 1987, COPLAC advances the aims of its member instit ...

Rankings

''U.S. News & World Report'' ranks Ramapo 37th among 196 "Regional Universities in the North" in its 2018 list. ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' ranked Ramapo College 299th out of the top 500 rated private and public colleges and universities in America for the 2024-25 report. Ramapo college was also ranked 140th among public colleges and 102nd in the northeast. In 2019,

ranked Ramapo College at #341 in Top Colleges, #116 in Public Colleges, and #133 in the Northeast region, and ranked Ramapo at #206 in America's Best Value Colleges of 2019. In 2023, Ramapo College's Nursing School was one of 17 New Jersey graduate schools to rank nationally, according to the ''U.S. News & World Report''. The same article noted that Ramapo College is additionally ranked by ''U.S. News'' as the No. 2 public institution in New Jersey. For its 2025 edition of "Best Colleges," ''U.S. News & World Report'' ranked Ramapo College as the 27th best in "Regional Universities North" (tied), 10th best in "Top Public Colleges," and 72nd in "Best Value Schools," marking an increase in all three rankings from previous editions.

Presidents

# George T. Potter (1968–1985) # Robert A. Scott (1985–2000) # Rodney David Smith (2001–2004) # Peter Philip Mercer (2004–2021) # Cindy Jebb (2021–present)

Campus

Praised for its accessibility and modernity which is juxtaposed by the picturesque outdoors, Ramapo College, which lies at the foothills of the

Ramapo Mountains The Ramapo Mountains are a forested chain of the Appalachian Mountains in northeastern New Jersey and southeastern New York, in the United States. They range in height from in New Jersey, and in New York. Several parks and forest preserves e ...

, was named by '' CondeNast Traveler'' as one of the 50 Most Beautiful College Campuses in America in 2020. The campus includes dozens of modern academic buildings, offices, eating facilities, and athletic playing fields and gyms. It also features an array of theaters and art galleries. Several dormitories have been built in the last twenty years. There is a "Spiritual Center" (see picture). The school has an independent FM radio station, WRPR, 90.3 FM, a free-form station featuring numerous genres and talk shows.

Athletics

Ramapo College teams are named the ''Roadrunners''. The university has 8 men's teams and 12 women's teams, and participates in

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is the lowest division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that do not offer athletic scholarships to student- ...

sports. Men's sports include

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and soil, earth, pass through woodlands and ope ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

, and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

. Women's athletic teams at Ramapo College consist of basketball,

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense Physical exercise, physical activity. It can be performed to motivate s ...

, cross country running,

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

, soccer,

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

, swimming, track and field, and volleyball. Ramapo also offers a club DIII

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team. The men's basketball team won the 2017 New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) championship and advanced to the NCAA Division III playoffs. However, Ramapo was eliminated after the second round of playoff competition. The hockey team won the Metropolitan Collegiate Hockey Conference title for 2016–2017 season. Student supporters of Ramapo College's athletic teams are known as the Ramapo Rowdies.

Affiliations

* NCAA Division III, ECAC *

New Jersey Athletic Conference The New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC), formerly the New Jersey State Athletic Conference, is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. All of its current full members are public universities in New Jers ...

(NJAC) * North East Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA) *

Skyline Conference The Skyline Conference is an List of NCAA conferences, intercollegiate athletic conference based in the New York City area that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division III, Division III. The league was orig ...

* Metro (NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship, NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship Division III)

Notable alumni

* Lauren H. Carson (born 1954), member of the

Rhode Island House of Representatives The Rhode Island House of Representatives is the lower house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the upper house being the Rhode Island Senate. It is ...

, representing the 75th District since 2015. * Frank Eufemia (born 1959), former

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

relief pitcher who played with the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

. * Tim Eustace (born 1956), one of New Jersey's first openly gay assemblymen, he represented the state's 38th Legislative District from 2012 to 2018. * Don La Greca (born 1968), sportscaster who is the co-host of ''

The Michael Kay Show ''The Michael Kay Show'' is a sports radio talk show airing on the New York City radio station WHSQ 880 ESPN New York, hosted by New York Yankees television play-by-play broadcaster Michael Kay. New York Rangers pre and post-game radio host Don ...

'' on ESPN New York. * Grace Helbig (born 1985), comedian, actress, ''

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 ...

'' bestselling author and creator and host of the web series ''It's Grace''. * Ron Cephas Jones (1957–2023),

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

-winning actor known for ''

This is Us ''This Is Us'' is an American drama television series created by Dan Fogelman that aired on NBC from September 20, 2016, to May 24, 2022. The series follows the lives and families of two parents and their three children in several different ti ...

'', ''

Mr. Robot ''Mr. Robot'' is an American drama thriller television series created by Sam Esmail for USA Network. It stars Rami Malek as Elliot Alderson, a cybersecurity engineer and hacker with social anxiety disorder, clinical depression, and dissoci ...

'' and ''

Across The Universe "Across the Universe" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. It was written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song first appeared on the 1969 various artists' charity compilation album ''No One's Gonna Change Our W ...

''. * Mark Leiter (born 1963), former MLB pitcher. * Todd Lowber (born 1982), former NFL/

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division and five in the West Division. The CFL is the highest pr ...

professional football player, who was on the

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

team * Joshua Orwa Ojode (1958–2012), Kenyan politician and assistant interior minister. * Laura-Ann Petitto (born ), cognitive neuroscientist and a developmental cognitive neuroscientist, known for her discoveries involving the language capacity of chimpanzees. * Jeff Phillips (born 1968), fitness trainer and former actor best known for his work on ''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. ''Guiding Light'' aired on CBS for 57 years between June 30, 1952, and September 18, 2009, overlapping a 19-year broadcast on radio ...

'', ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other so ...

'' and the 1996 film ''

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

'' * Mike Roche, actor. * Kevin J. Rooney (born 1960), member of the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

representing the state's 40th Legislative District since 2016. * Jay Seals (born 1976), actor, known for his recurring role in the television drama ''

Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American historical drama, period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on cable network AMC (TV channel), AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, with seven seasons ...

'' from 2010 to 2015. * Rich Skrosky (born 1964), football player and coach. * Patrick Stickles (born 1985), singer, guitarist, and songwriter in the band

Titus Andronicus ''The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus'', often shortened to ''Titus Andronicus'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first t ...

Notable faculty

Murray Bookchin Murray Bookchin (; January 14, 1921 – July 30, 2006) was an American social theorist, author, orator, historian, and political philosopher. Influenced by G. W. F. Hegel, Karl Marx, and Peter Kropotkin, he was a pioneer in the environmental ...

(1921–2006), political theorist, pioneer in the ecology movement and former faculty member. * Thilmeeza Hussain (born 1978), Maldivian Ambassador to the United Nations (2019–present) and former adjunct professor. * Laura McCullough (born 1960), poet and former professor. * Murray Sabrin (born 1946), political candidate and author.

Demographics

Ramapo College of New Jersey CDP is also a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) covering the Ramapo College campus in Mahwah. It first appeared as a CDP in the 2020 U.S. Census with a population of 2,200.

2020 census

References

External links

*
Athletics website
{{Coord, 41, 04, 58, N, 74, 10, 41, W, format=dms, display=title, type:edu_region:US-NJ Universities and colleges in Bergen County, New Jersey Universities and colleges established in 1969 Ramapos Mahwah, New Jersey 1969 establishments in New Jersey Liberal arts colleges in New Jersey Public universities and colleges in New Jersey Public liberal arts colleges in the United States