Rowan College at Burlington County
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Former names | Burlington County College (1966–2015) |
|---|---|
| Type | Public community college |
| Established | 1966 |
Academic affiliations | Sea-grant |
| President | Michael A. Cioce[1] |
| Location | , U.S. |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Colors | Red and black |
Sporting affiliations | NJCAA Region XIX, Garden State Athletic Conference |
| Mascot | Baron |
| Website | rcbc.edu |
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Rowan College at Burlington County (RCBC) is a public community college in Burlington County, New Jersey. Main facilities are located in Mount Laurel, with other campuses in Mount Holly, McGuire AFB/Joint Base, and formerly Pemberton and Willingboro.
History
[edit]Founded as "Burlington County College" in 1966, the college opened to 1,051 students in 1969 at Lenape High School. The Pemberton campus opened a few years later in 1971. In 1972, the college received accreditation by the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education, as well as the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.
Throughout the next several years, the college underwent a series of changes, including increased enrollment, the opening of new campuses, the addition of more degree programs, and several leadership changes (see below).
In 2015, Burlington County College was renamed to Rowan College at Burlington County in recognition of its historic partnership with Rowan University.
In 2016, RCBC became the first community college in New Jersey authorized to offer junior-year courses in its "3+1" option to Rowan University.
Leadership
[edit]| 1967 | N. Dean Evans |
| 1979 | Harmon Pierce |
| 1987 | Robert Messina, Jr. |
| 2012 | David C. Hespe |
| 2014 | David I. Spang |
| 2015 | Paul Drayton |
| 2018 | Michael A. Cioce |
Locations
[edit]Mount Laurel Campus
[edit]
RCBC's main campus is located in the Hartford section of Mount Laurel, opened in 1995. It houses the Student Success Center and campus quad to cater to students working toward advanced degrees. A Health Sciences Center is located off of Briggs Road.
Mount Holly Campus
[edit]Located on High and Mill Street in Mount Holly, this campus houses RCBC's culinary arts program. This location also includes a student art gallery, as well as a student-run restaurant named Vaulted Cuisine. All of RCBC's art programs are located on this campus.[citation needed]
Willingboro Campus
[edit]RCBC held a full-time presence in Willingboro from 1974 to 2022, having offered a more accessible location for residents of towns along the Route 130 corridor. This campus featured classrooms, computer labs, a student lounge, college offices, and student services.
McGuire AFB/Joint Base Campus
[edit]RCBC's McGuire AFB/Joint Base campus serves the needs of adult learners who are seeking to achieve a promotion in their current career or credentials they need to embark on a new career. Located in the northern part of Burlington County.[citation needed]
Former locations
[edit]Pemberton Campus
[edit]The Pemberton Campus in Pemberton Township, New Jersey opened in 1971 as the first standalone campus of the college. It sat on a 225-acre (91 ha) site off County Route 530.[2] Buildings included the Lewis M. Parker Center, a classroom and lab building, and the Physical Education Center, a building with a gymnasium, pool, and locker rooms. After the purchase of the county college by Rowan in 2015, classes and operations began to move to the Mount Laurel Campus. The last class was held there in 2017 and the property was available for sale the next year. The pool continued to be used by locals until 2019. The site now largely sits abandoned and vandalized.[2]
Athletics
[edit]
Rowan College at Burlington County athletics teams were nicknamed the Barons. RCBC was affiliated to the Garden State Athletic Conference of National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). The college discontinued its athletics programs in June 2021, as well as it erased all sports information from its website.[3]
List of sports programs fielded by the Barons fielded seven programs which were baseball, basketball (men's/women's), soccer (m/w), golf, and softball. At its peak, the programs combined for around 150 athletes, which made up less than 2 percent of the student body. The college had an annual budget for athletics of $850,000. Rowan stated that closure was decided "after a comprehensive review of costs and benefits to students, as well as the results of student survey that revealed little engagement with this program beyond the athletes."[3]
Notable alumni
[edit]- Zach Braddock (born 1987), former professional baseball player[4]
- Mario Cerrito (born 1984), film director and producer[5]
- Ant Clemons (born 1991), singer[6]
- Denver Riggleman (born 1970), businessman and former politician who served one term as the United States representative for Virginia's 5th congressional district[7]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Board of Trustees chooses Acting President Cioce to lead RCBC". Rowan College at Burlington County. May 22, 2018. Archived from the original on August 15, 2018. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ a b Kennedy, Mike (May 19, 2023). "6 years after New Jersey community college moves to new campus, its former home sits mostly abandoned". American School & University. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
- ^ a b Athletics programs to shut down at Rowan College at Burlington County by Tom McGurk at the Courier Post, 5 May 2021
- ^ "Zach Braddock - Stats". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ "Rowan College at Burlington County - NJCAA Stats". NJCAA. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ Kuperinsky, Amy (December 17, 2019). "N.J.'s Ant Clemons went from waiting tables to working with Kanye West. Next up: The Grammys". NJ.com. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ "Denver L. Riggleman III". The Miller Center. Eagleton Institute of Politics. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
Denver earned an A.A. from Burlington County College in 1996, an A.A.S. degree in Avionics Systems from the Community College of the Air force in 1996, a BA (with Distinction) in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia in 1998 and a Masters Certificate in Program Management from Villanova in 2007.
External links
[edit]
- Official website
- 39°58′19″N 74°53′35″W / 39.972°N 74.893°W - Mt. Laurel campus
- 39°57′54″N 74°38′53″W / 39.965°N 74.648°W - Former Pemberton campus
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