New Jersey City University


New Jersey City University is a public liberal arts university in Jersey City, New Jersey. Originally chartered in 1927, New Jersey City University consists of the NJCU School of Business, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Education, and College of Professional Studies. NJCU enrolls over 8,500 students.

History

NJCU is organized into three colleges offering 41 undergraduate study and 27 graduate degree programs.
The largest and most popular programs of study at NJCU are Early Childhood Education, and Music. In addition, the NJCU Fire Science program is the only university-based bachelor's degree fire science program in the State of New Jersey. NJCU has started a program called "Professional Security" that helps students get into organizations such as the FBI, NSA, and CIA. The majority of students that graduate from NJCU have become teachers from grades k-12.
The NJCU Media Arts Department is the home base and sponsor of the annual Black Maria Film and Video Festival, an international juried competition and traveling exhibition which recognizes and supports independent film, video and emerging media.

A. Harry Moore School

NJCU has overseen operations of the A. Harry Moore School for students with special needs since 1963.

Campus

Main campus

The university's main campus is situated on a landscaped campus in an urban community located at 2039 Kennedy Boulevard Jersey City. The University's administrative center is Hepburn Hall. Designed by Guilbert and Betelle and completed in 1930, the Gothic structure serves as the symbol of the university and features in school publications as well as the university's athletic nickname.
The NJCU Frank J. Guarini Library is available to students as well as staff for learning materials such as books, DVDs, CDs, computer lab, quiet study rooms and access to electronic databases. Since the Fall 2014 semester, despite some objections by librarians, there has been a Dunkin Donuts franchise operating out of the first floor of the library.
A six-story Arts and Sciences building named Karnoutsos Hall was designed by architect Michael Graves. It is known by students as the Crayola building, because of the colors which make up the building's exterior, and as the K building. It is located in the center of the campus. The building, houses 14 classrooms, 10 computer labs, faculty offices for nine departments, and the Office of the Dean of Arts and Sciences.
Other academic buildings include Rossey Hall,, the recently renovated Science Building, the Professional Studies Building ; Fries Hall ; and Grossnickle Hall. The Visual Arts Building on Culver Avenue features a Maya Lin sculpture in the entrance garden area.

West campus - University Place

There are renovated buildings on West Side Avenue that are part of the school, including the West Side Theatre, which is used for theatrical productions and community events. Another building houses the Business Development Incubator program.
NJCU is in the midst of a major expansion, which will include a new 21-acre west campus, situated between West Side Avenue and New Jersey Route 440. The first building, a student residence, opened in 2016. The new campus will include a performing arts center, student housing, a college of education, and a business school.
Construction has begun on the new "West Campus" between West Side Avenue and Bayfront on Route 440 that will more than double the campus's total area. The West Campus will include academic buildings, residences, retail spaces, parking, and a University Promenade. The center of will be the Center for Music Theater Dance.
and the Joffrey Ballet School.

Athletic complex

The university's Thomas M. Gerrity Athletic Complex is located less than a mile southwest of the main campus at near Droyers Point on Newark Bay. In 2017, the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer entered into a facility usage partnership with the University to upgrade the natural grass soccer training field at the complex to professionally approved standards. Under the partnership, national and international teams will be allowed to train at the facility ahead of their matches at Red Bull Arena. Phase one of the project began in early June 2017 and involved regrading, aeration and reseeding of the training facility. The project, which is still ongoing, will also involve overall maintenance of the training facility.

NJCU School of Business

In September 2015, the NJCU School of Business, a state-of-the art, custom-designed facility opened at Harborside Plaza directly on the Jersey City waterfront. The two-story facility features 18 instructional spaces, two data science centers, a simulated trading floor, an auditorium, offices, study areas, a student lounge, and a large waterfront conference center with views of Lower Manhattan.

Campus living

The university operates four residence halls: Co-op Hall, a corridor-style facility with common area bathrooms and study lounges for freshmen and first year dorm students; Vodra Hall, a traditional dormitory with shared bathrooms between rooms for upper-class students and special needs individuals; and 2040 University Apartments, a residence for seniors and others of age 21 and up. The fourth is a new residence hall on the west campus.
Another accommodation for students is the Knight Rider, for dorm students only. It is accessible between 5:00 pm and 1:00 am. Between these hours students may call if they need to be taken to stores on Route 440, Danforth Plaza, Hudson Mall, or the Light Rail station. Several clubs are available for students to join, including Biology Club, Chess Club, and Salsa Club.

Transportation

NJCU has a large population of commuter students, currently 97% of undergraduates.
The university provides a shuttle service which runs on three routes to fit the transportation needs of students and faculty. The first route transports car commuting students and faculty from West Campus Parking Lot #3, located on Westside Avenue, to the Professional Studies Building on the main campus. The second route operates similar to the first route but makes additional stops and pickups at the Athletics & Fitness Center and Visual Arts building. The final route of the shuttle service provides a shuttle drop off at Journal Square that can only be boarded from the Professional Studies Building location.

Athletics

NJCU is a member of Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
The John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center is the home of the Gothic Knight basketball and volleyball teams and the focal point for the NJCU athletic department and recreation and intramural activities. The JMAC opened in the fall of 1998, giving the university one of the finest indoor recreational facilities in the area. The building features a 2,000-seat basketball and volleyball arena, an exercise and fitness center, a 25-yard swimming and diving pool with adjacent sauna, a tenth-of-a-mile elevated jogging track, a multi-purpose room for aerobics and classes, and locker room space for teams, students, faculty and staff.
New Jersey City University sponsors thirteen intercollegiate athletic programs in baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's wrestling, women's bowling, men's and women's cross country, men's golf, men's and women's soccer, softball, women's tennis and men's and women's volleyball.
The women's bowling team has qualified for all seven NCAA National Collegiate Championship events since the first one was held in 2004. The Gothic Knights have advanced to the national semifinals four times, always coming in even-numbered years: 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010, finishing third nationally in 2004 and 2008. NJCU hosted the 2010 NCAA Championship.
The men's basketball team is the oldest program, having reached the Final Four in 1986 and 1992. The team has appeared in 20 NCAA Tournaments, most recently in 2017 and 2018.
The baseball team now, under head coach Jerry Smith, along with assistant coaches Nick Cesare, Raj Subramanian and Andrew Otterberg have built the program into a contender.
Starting in July 2013, cheerleading tryouts were held for students. NJCU had a cheering team for the students to be a part of for the school year of 2013–2014. Women's tennis will begin as a club program in fall 2014 before being elevated to varsity status, as the men's golf team previously did in 2009.

Greek life

Greek organizations offered at New Jersey City University include:
The Gothic Times is New Jersey City University's official student newspaper. It was reintroduced in 2001 and prints monthly issues, excluding June, July and August. It features stories about campus happenings as well as articles on lifestyle, sports, arts and entertainment. It also features an editorial and opinion/advice section.
In the early 2000s, the newspaper gained statewide recognition, winning a number of awards from the New Jersey Collegiate Press Association, culminating with a second-place finish in the category of General Excellence.

Faculty and alumni