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Rutgers University–New Brunswick is one of three regional campuses of Rutgers University, a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. It is located in New Brunswick and Piscataway. It is the oldest campus of the university, the others being in Camden and Newark. The campus is composed of several smaller campuses that are large distances away from each other: College Avenue, Busch, Livingston, Cook, and Douglass, the latter two sometimes referred to as "Cook/Douglass", as they are adjacent to each other. All 4 subcampuses connect primarily via State Route 18. Rutgers–New Brunswick also includes several buildings in downtown New Brunswick. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".[5] The New Brunswick campuses include 19 undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools. The New Brunswick campus is also known as the birthplace of college football.
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Former names | Queen's College (1766–1816) Rutgers College (1825–1924) Rutgers University |
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| Motto | Sol iustitiae et occidentem illustra |
Motto in English | Sun of righteousness, shine upon the West also. |
| Type | Public land-grant research university |
| Established | November 10, 1766; 257 years ago (1766-11-10) |
Academic affiliations | Space-grant |
| Endowment | $1.900 billion (2022)[1] |
| Budget | $4.800 billion (2022)[1] |
| Chancellor | Francine Conway |
| President | Jonathan Holloway |
Academic staff | 8,500[2] |
Administrative staff | 5,340[2] |
| Students | 43,859[3] |
| Location |
, U.S 40°30′09″N 74°26′55″W / 40.50250°N 74.44861°W / 40.50250; -74.44861 |
| Campus | Urban/suburban 2,688 acres (1,088 ha) |
| Alma Mater | On the Banks of the Old Raritan |
| Colors | Scarlet[4] |
| Nickname | Scarlet Knights |
Sporting affiliations | NCAA Division I FBS – Big Ten |
| Mascot | Scarlet Knight |
| Website | newbrunswick |
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This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2017)
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The eighth of nine colleges established during the American colonial period, Rutgers was chartered as Queen's College on 10 November 1766. It was renamed Rutgers College in 1825 after Colonel Henry Rutgers (1745–1830), an American Revolutionary War hero, philanthropist, and an early benefactor of the school.[6] With the development of graduated education, Rutgers College was renamed Rutgers University in 1924. Originally established as a private institution affiliated with the Dutch Reformed Church, it is now a secular institution and became the state university of New Jersey under legislation passed in 1945 and 1956. At present, Rutgers is unique as the only university in the United States that is a colonial chartered college (1766), a land-grant institution (1864), and a state university (1945/1956).[7]
Each of the five campuses hosts its own student center, libraries, commercial venues, dining halls, and residence buildings. However, the physical atmosphere of each campus differs, and may also host specific academic departments, facilities, and schools.
The Food Pantry started in 2016 located in the College Ave student center. It is offered to any Rutgers students who shows a valid RUID card. The food pantry offers food for people who may not be able to afford it or for any other reason. They get their food from many donations. Their hours are Tuesday-Friday 12 p.m. – 4 p.m. with the exception of Thursday being their Mobile food pantry located on Busch, Livingston, and Douglass. [8]
| Academic rankings | |
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| National | |
| U.S. News & World Report[11] | 40 |
| Washington Monthly[12] | 62 |
This section needs expansion with: (see articles for similar U.S. schools). You can help by adding to it. (May 2015)
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Residence halls provide many facilities for students. With over 15,000 resident students, 5 different campuses each with its own identity, 58 residence halls, 4 dining halls and 30-plus food courts/cafés, students can find everything they need right on campus. Despite some over-crowding, students wishing to live on-campus are usually accommodated, with a lottery system for non-incoming freshmen determining the order in which students choose their preferred housing (With the exception of Demarest Hall, which exempts students from the lottery system as long as they are contracted to special interest sections, and BEST (Busch Engineering, Science, and Technology) Hall, which is open only to students from SAS, SOE, and Pharmacy, and exempts them from the lottery if they got into the hall as a freshman). Single, double, and triple-occupancy rooms (in traditional residence halls), apartments housing four students each, and suites housing six (or four, as in BEST Hall) students each are available. Rooms and apartments are single-sex, with the exception of married graduate student housing, which also permit children of students. The other exceptions to this rule are the Livingston Apartments, Demarest Hall, and Rainbow Perspective Special Interest Rooms in New Gibbons. (These, however require special applications to be made) Most floors and buildings are co-ed, with the exception of Douglass Residential College facilities for women. Rooms usually contain beds, desks, chairs, dressers, and a closet for each student. Cable/internet access are also provided, but due to the widespread use of mobile phones, traditional land-line phone service is no longer provided in the halls. Many residence halls include laundries, main lounges with TVs, foosball and ping-pong, floor lounges with sofas, study tables, and kitchenettes, study lounges, and vending machines. Every floor or house has a resident assistant, an upper class student mentor who has received special training and is responsible for handling a number of tasks, such as planning programs and events, monitoring for safety, and documenting policy and procedure violations.
In the past, due to overcrowding, Rutgers has rented rooms for students in the Franklin Township Crowne Plaza. Shuttle buses provided transportation to campus for these students.
Residence halls by campus:
Other Halls: Davidson (Busch: Closed in 2016), Ford (College Avenue: Closed 2013), Corwin (Cook: Closed 2013), Old Gibbons (Douglass: Closed 2020), Rockoff (Downtown: Now off-campus).
Three complexes provide graduate housing. They are Johnson Apartments, Marvin Apartments, and Nichols Apartments.[13] Marvin Apartments and Nichols Apartments offer housing for graduate students with families, whereas Johnson Apartments are shared by two single graduate students. All three apartment facilities are located in Piscataway Township on Busch Campus.[14][15][16][17]
In 1966 Johnson was built.[14] In 1973 Marvin was built.[15] Nichols was constructed in 1975.[16]
The campus is home to over 80 fraternities and sororities, including African-American, Latino/a, multicultural and Asian-interest. Several organizations maintain houses for their chapters in the area of Union Street (known locally as "Frat Row"), adjacent to the College Avenue Campus. Greek organizations are governed by the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs.
The Grease Trucks were a group of truck-based food vendors located on the College Avenue Campus. They serve traditional grill fare, Middle-Eastern specialties, and are especially well known for serving "Fat Sandwiches", a sub roll containing various ingredients such as cheesesteak, burgers, pork roll, chicken fingers, French fries, mozzarella sticks, eggs, bacon, gyro meat, marinara sauce, etc. The Rutgers Grease Trucks were located in a designated lot for nearly two decades until August 2013. Truck owners were forced to relocate due to the construction of an $84 million student apartment complex. Three trucks remain on the College Avenue Campus, while the remaining two were moved to the Cook/Douglass Campus. Now, there is a store opening in the new area on College Avenue called "The Yard".
The Dance Marathon is a student-run organization that consists of a year-long series of fundraisers and culminates with the annual Marathon on April 5–6 in the College Avenue Gym. At the Marathon over 400 dancers pledge to raise funds and remain standing for 32 hours without sleeping. The 'Dancers', along with over 500 volunteers and countless visitors, are entertained by live bands, comedians, prize giveaways, games, sports, a mechanical bull, computer and internet access, various theme hours and much more. Rutgers has held this tradition since 1999 and to date has raised in excess of $1.3 million for the Embrace Kids Foundation. In the seventies the Dance Marathon raised funds for the American Cancer Society. In the Eighties it was the Rutger Cancer Research Association.
RutgersFest was a day-long cultural event staged variously on either Livingston Campus or Busch Campus. It was designed to promote college spirit through student organization participation with activities and entertainment throughout the day, culminating with a free concert and fireworks at night. The event was free to all students and guests and was funded as part of an elected programming fee paid by all students as part tuition. Past musical guests have included: Kanye West, Everclear, Sugar Ray, Guster, Goldfinger, Ludacris, Reel Big Fish, Method Man and Redman, Fuel, Third Eye Blind, Hawthorne Heights, NAS, SR-71, Ok Go, N.E.R.D, Pitbull, and more. The event would feature carnival attractions such as bungee bull, bouncy boxing, moon walk, electronic basketball, a recording studio and more. Attendance for the annual event was about 40,000–50,000, topping out at an estimated 65,000 in 2004 at the event which featured Kanye West and Sugar Ray[18] The event was staged by the Rutgers University Programming Association (RUPA), formerly known as the Rutgers College Programming Committee (RCPC), as a year-end celebration before the start of the final examination period.
During its final year in 2011, the festival was held on Busch Campus. Invited musical guests included Yelawolf, Pitbull, and 3OH!3. Several violent incidents that year lead to the indefinite cancellation of the event. President Richard McCormick, in a letter to the Rutgers community, commented: "The problems that occur following RutgersFest have grown beyond our capacity to manage them, and the only responsible course of action is to cancel the event."[19]
According to a New Brunswick Crime Rate Report, "the city's violent crime rate for New Brunswick in 2009 was higher than the national violent crime rate average by 75.98% and the city property crime rate in New Brunswick was higher than the national property crime rate average by 12.75%. In 2009 the city violent crime rate in New Brunswick was higher than the violent crime rate in New Jersey by 142.64% and the city property crime rate in New Brunswick was higher than the property crime rate in New Jersey by 64.59%". Projected Crime Incidents for 2012, include 184 incidents for Aggravated Assault, 3 incidents for Arson, 523 incidents for Burglary, 25 incidents for Forcible Rape, 865 incidents for Larceny and Theft, 73 incidents for Motor Vehicle Theft, 5 incidents for Murder and Manslaughter, 132 incidents for Robbery, with 1,791 total incidents including 1,464 for Property Crime and 347 for Violent Crime.[20]
In March 2012, the Daily Targum published an article, City Activists Seek Answers to Street Violence, regarding the increase in street violence in New Brunswick, "In an attempt to stop local street violence, residents are teaming up with New Brunswick authorities to make the city streets safer through various efforts. David Harris, executive director of the Greater New Brunswick Daycare Council, said community leaders and activists in New Brunswick are exploring different ways to combat criminal activity".[21]
However, the crime rate in New Brunswick for 2012 is expected to be lower than in 2009. Based on data from 11 years, New Brunswick crime statistics report an overall downward trend in crime. But, compared to statistics from previous years, while property crime is decreasing, violent crime is increasing.[20]
Rutgers University is referred to as The Birthplace of College Football as the first intercollegiate football game was held on College Field between Rutgers and Princeton on November 6, 1869, on a plot of ground behind where the present-day College Avenue Gymnasium now stands. Rutgers won the game, by the score of 6 to Princeton's 4.[22]
In 1864, rowing became the first organized sport at Rutgers. Six mile races were held on the Raritan River among six-oared boats. In 1870, Rutgers held its first intercollegiate competition against the Lawrence Scientific School of Harvard. During the following century, Rutgers built a strong men's crew program consisting of both heavyweight and lightweight teams. A women's crew team was added in 1974. In the fall of 2007, men's heavyweight and lightweight crew, along with men's swimming and diving, men's tennis, and men's and women's fencing were cut as NCAA Division I sports by the university administration. The university claimed these changes were due to budget cuts, while others said it was a politically motivated move used to protest funding changes by the state. The university currently has no plans to restore these sports.
