Rutgers University Celebrates a Century of Higher Education in Newark

(NEWARK, NJ) –From humble beginnings as a law school founded in 1908 by New York attorney Richard Currier, Rutgers University in Newark has grown over the course of the past century to become one of the country’s leading urban research universities.

Its distinguished alumni, supporters, faculty, staff and students will gather on June 19 in the Paul Robeson Campus Center for a gala celebration and fundraiser “A Century of Reaching Higher.” The gala will celebrate the transformation of two law schools, a business college and two colleges of arts and science into one of the nation’s leading urban research universities, dedicated to engaging with its surrounding community by taking full advantage of the opportunities it offers for teaching, learning and research.

The gala will celebrate the university’s legacy in the state’s largest city, particularly in the areas of educational opportunity, urban engagement, diversity and research.  Gala proceeds will support scholarship funds, including scholarships for students in the state’s first undergraduate major in public service, to be offered by the Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration beginning in the fall of 2008.

Co-chairing the gala event are five distinguished alumni of Rutgers-Newark; three are graduates of the Rutgers Business School: Dennis Bone, President of Verizon New Jersey; Raymond Chambers, chairman of the MCJ-Amelior Foundation, and Ralph Izzo, CEO of PSEG; and two of the College of Arts and Sciences: Barbara Bell Coleman, President of BBC Associates, and Alfred Koeppe, CEO of The Newark Alliance.  They are joined on the centennial gala committee by more than 40 leaders in business, government and higher education, many of them graduates of Rutgers-Newark.

Newark resident Clement Alexander Price, Board of Governors Distinguished Service Professor of History who has taught at Rutgers-Newark since 1967, will act as the Master of Ceremonies of the event. Newark Mayor Cory Booker will be the keynote speaker at the celebration.

Two of Rutgers’ own great jazz musicians, saxophonist and jazz historian Leo Johnson and Dr. Lewis Porter, pianist and jazz historian, will add a musical note to the festivities.

Johnson, who teaches saxophone and serves as the director of the Mosaic Jazz Ensemble at Rutgers-Newark, has been named as one of Newark’s “Jazz Elders” and was recognized by the city’s two previous administrations for his contributions to Newark’s cultural and civic standing. Selections from his most recent CD, “Leo Johnson- It’s About Time,” have been featured on WBGO Jazz 88.3 FM. He has toured extensively in Europe and performed with such greats as Chico Mendoza, Jimmy McGriff, Jack McDuff quintet with David “Fathead” Newman, Jimmy Witherspoon and Johnny Hammond.

Jazz pianist Porter is as well known for his teaching scholarship and his publications -- especially the award winning “John Coltrane: His Life and Music” -- as for his mastery of the keyboard.   Porter has been described as a "jazz scholar with deep knowledge of the tradition he is studying, both conceptually and technically."  As a pianist and keyboardist, Porter is known for his ability to contribute to any type of musical situation.  He performs frequently with many noted artists, including Wycliffe Gordon, Ravi Coltrane, Joe Morris, Badal Roy, and Jane Ira Bloom.  He performed in Europe in November 2007 with jazzman Dave Liebman and others and his latest CD, “Italian Encounter,” was recorded live at the legendary Siena Jazz.  A Ph.D. musicologist, Dr. Porter founded, and has directed since 1997, what was at the time, the world's first jazz history program.

A special VIP reception hosted by Rutgers President Richard L. McCormick will pay tribute to New Jersey’s living governors.

The gala will also showcase one of the University’s most promising young scholars, Tynesha McHarris, who is graduating this spring with a double major in political science/sociology and a minor in urban studies and community development. She received the 2007 Provost Community Engagement Award for her work fostering the development of students and community members through participation in organizations that focus on education reform, voter registration, academic enrichment and community activism.

Professional education has been a hallmark of Rutgers University in Newark since the early days of the New Jersey Law School and the Seth Boyden School of Business, both housed in the old Ballantine Brewery building at 40 Rector Street.  These schools, along with Dana College, eventually merged to form the University of Newark in 1936, one of the important “streetcar universities” of the early 20^th century.  The streetcar universities were commuter schools founded by Progressive Era idealists with the goal of expanding higher educational opportunity to the sons (and later daughters) of primarily working class and immigrant families.

In the 1940s, the University of Newark merged with Rutgers University to form a geographically diverse public state university with programs in a broad variety of undergraduate and graduate disciplines. In the 1960s the university acquired a large parcel of land in what is now known as the University Heights district, and began construction of the modern campus.  Rutgers-Newark today is a modern urban research university of 38 acres, where 10,500 students pursue degrees in business, law, the arts and sciences, nursing, criminal justice, public administration and global affairs.

Information on gala tickets and sponsorships can be obtained by contacting the centennial gala committee at 973.353.3326, or provost-newark@newark.rutgers.edu.

Further information on the history of Rutgers University in Newark can be found at www.newark.rutgers.edu/century.  Historical and contemporary photos of Rutgers University in Newark are available; contact oc@andromeda.rutgers.edu for high-resolution files.