Anchored in Atlantic City

Atlantic City’s Mayflower Hotel was the original ÒùÐÔÊÓƵ campus in 1971. (Image courtesy of The Press of Atlantic City)
Atlantic City’s Mayflower Hotel was the original ÒùÐÔÊÓƵ campus in 1971. (Image courtesy of The Press of Atlantic City)
After the College moved to Galloway, the Carnegie Library Center was the first off-campus instructional site, opening in 2003.
After the College moved to Galloway, the Carnegie Library Center was the first off-campus instructional site, opening in 2003.
The Noyes Arts Garage hosts exhibits, classes, local artists’ galleries, and more.
The Noyes Arts Garage hosts exhibits, classes, local artists’ galleries, and more.
When legal issues arose preventing the former Showboat Casino Hotel from becoming the College’s Atlantic City campus in 2015, students rallied to show their support for the plan. (Image courtesy of The Press of Atlantic City)
When legal issues arose preventing the former Showboat Casino Hotel from becoming the College’s Atlantic City campus in 2015, students rallied to show their support for the plan. (Image courtesy of The Press of Atlantic City)
In 2018, the ÒùÐÔÊÓƵ Atlantic City campus opened with the John F. Scarpa Academic Center and a residential complex.
In 2018, the ÒùÐÔÊÓƵ Atlantic City campus opened with the John F. Scarpa Academic Center and a residential complex.

ÒùÐÔÊÓƵ’s relationship with Atlantic City is as old as the institution itself. In 1971, when construction on the Galloway main campus was delayed, the College shifted classes to the Mayflower Hotel on the Boardwalk at Tennessee Avenue. For ÒùÐÔÊÓƵ’s first semester, students both lived and studied in the building. Faculty offices were there, too, on the second floor, while Student Affairs and the ±Ê°ù±ð²õ¾±»å±ð²Ô³Ù’s office were on the third floor.

ÒùÐÔÊÓƵ’s investment in Atlantic City expanded in 2003 when it acquired the Carnegie Library Center to house a range of classes, including the Master of Social Work program. The College also contributed to the local arts community through its operation of Dante Hall Theater (2011 to 2020) and the (2013 to present), both of which foster emerging artistic talent, as well as host public events.

In 2016, New Jersey designated ÒùÐÔÊÓƵ as an Anchor Institution for Atlantic City, in large part because of its plans to open a campus in the city. The University initially planned to open the campus in the former Showboat Casino Hotel, but later opened ÒùÐÔÊÓƵ Atlantic City in Fall 2018 as part of the Gateway Project on the site of the old Atlantic City High School. It has been the academic and residential home for thousands of students since. The city designated the area around the campus as a University District, and ÒùÐÔÊÓƵ broke ground for Phase II on a second residential building in the fall of 2020.

Together, partnerships between the community and the University continue to collaboratively influence and rejuvenate Atlantic City.

  Return to 50th in Flight