Georgian Court University

Georgian Court University (GCU or Georgian Court) is a private Roman Catholic university in Lakewood Township, New Jersey. Founded in 1908 by the Sisters of Mercy, the university has more than 1,500 undergraduates and nearly 600 graduate students.

Georgian Court University
MottoExpand Possibility
TypePrivate university
Established1908 (1908)
Religious affiliation
Roman Catholic (Sisters of Mercy)
Academic affiliations
Sea-grant, Space-grant
Endowment$54.9 million (2019)[1]
PresidentJoseph R. Marbach
Academic staff
236[2]
Undergraduates1,528
Postgraduates594
Location
Lakewood Township
,
New Jersey
,
United States
CampusSuburban
ColorsBlue and gold   
AthleticsNCAA Division II – CACC
NicknameLions
AffiliationsConference for Mercy Higher Education
MSCHE
ACCU
NAICU
CIC
Sports14 varsity men's and women's teams
MascotRoary the Lion
Websitewww.georgian.edu
Georgian Court
Mansion, in 2017
Georgian Court
Georgian Court
Georgian Court
LocationLakewood, New Jersey
Area155.9 acres (63.1 ha)
Built1898 (1898)
ArchitectBruce Price, et al.
Architectural styleGeorgian revival
NRHP reference No.78001788[3]
NJRHP No.2306[4]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPDecember 20, 1978
Designated NHLDFebruary 4, 1985[5]
Designated NJRHPAugust 2, 1978

The institution became a university in 2004 and began admitting male students in 1994 after more than 100 years as a women's college. The university is open to students of all faiths, while emphasizing its mission of Mercy, which incorporates respect, justice, integrity, compassion, and service.

The Lakewood campus (main campus) was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978[6] and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1985.[7]

History

Location

The main campus is on the former summer estate (built in 1899) of the millionaire George Jay Gould, son of the railroad tycoon Jay Gould.[8] The Goulds named their home Georgian Court, probably after George or the Georgian-revival architecture.[9]

The estate was designed by Bruce Price, a New York architect, and was one of his most important residential works. He also designed three of the campus's gardens: the Italian Gardens, the Sunken Garden, and the Formal Garden. Takeo Shiota designed the Japanese Garden. In addition to the gardens, GCU has maintained much of the original architecture and the Sister Mary Grace Burns Arboretum. The estate was designated a National Historic Landmark for its architecture and its association with the Goulds.[10]

School

The Sisters of Mercy founded Mount Saint Mary College as a liberal arts school for women in 1908, in North Plainfield, New Jersey. In 1924, the sisters purchased Georgian Court estate and moved the college there, renaming it Georgian Court College.[11]

The college was granted university status by the State of New Jersey in February 2004.[12]

For more than a century, from 1908 to 2015, the institution was headed by Sisters of Mercy. The Sisters of Mercy organization continues to sponsor Georgian Court through the Conference for Mercy Higher Education.

The full transition to a coeducational institution, admitting both women and men into all academic programs, became complete at the outset of the Fall 2013 semester.

Georgian Court is the only Catholic college or university located in Central or South New Jersey. Most of its enrollment is drawn from these areas.

In 2004, university status was granted by the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education; the name was changed to Georgian Court University.

Administration and faculty

The first eight presidents (1908–2015) of the school were all Sisters of Mercy. The first male academic dean was appointed in 1967.[13]

In 2015, Joseph R. Marbach, Ph.D., became the first permanent lay president — and the first male — to take the helm of Georgian Court University.

Academics

Georgian Court offers 33 undergraduate majors through the School of Arts and Sciences, the School of Business and Digital Media, and the School of Education. Georgian Court University is nondiscriminatory and welcomes people of all faiths.

Beyond classes offered on the main campus in Lakewood, Georgian Court programs are also offered at GCU at Hazlet, New Jersey (at Brookdale Community College's Northern Monmouth Campus), and other locations.

Athletics

The school colors are blue and gold, and the mascot is a lion. The Georgian Court University Lions have 14 sports teams that compete in the NCAA Division II.

The university is a member of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC).

GCU features a 67,000-square-foot Wellness Center equipped for athletic training, physical education and sports competitions. In addition, a 1,200-seat arena, athletics fields which offer synthetic turf, a six-court outdoor tennis center, and an abundance of training space offer student-athletes modern facilities and on-campus resources for their sports and recreational activities.[14]

Women's sports include basketball, cross country, lacrosse, soccer, softball, track & field, and volleyball.

As of fall of 2013, Georgian Court added men's sports when it became fully coeducational, adding men's basketball, cross country, soccer, and track & field.[15] Men's lacrosse was added in the spring of 2016.

"Real tennis"

One of the many historic aspects of the campus is that it houses the only "real tennis" court, also called a "court tennis" court, at an American school. This indoor tennis court was built in the Casino building (which was a "casino" in the 19th-century sense of the term: a place for social gatherings[8]).[6] Approximately forty-five real tennis courts are still in use in the world today.

  • Sunken Garden and marble stairway
  • Japanese Garden
  • Sculptural detail
  • The Casino (unrelated to gambling)[8]
  • Jeu de paume (real tennis, 17th century)

See also

References
  1. As of June 30, 2019. "U.S. and Canadian 2019 NTSE Participating Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2019 Endowment Market Value, and Percentage Change in Market Value from FY18 to FY19 (Revised)". National Association of College and University Business Officers and TIAA. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  2. "Georgian Court University". Petersons's. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
  3. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  4. "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places – Ocean County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection – Historic Preservation Office. February 12, 2018. p. 2.
  5. "Georgian Court". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. 2008-06-23. Archived from the original on 2007-12-06.
  6. Added on December 20, 1978: "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Georgian Court". National Park Service. Retrieved April 30, 2018. With accompanying pictures
  7. Designated on February 4, 1985.
  8. Lucy D. Rosenfeld; Marina Harrison (2006). History Walks in New Jersey. Rutgers Univ. Press. p. 119. ISBN 978-0-8135-3969-0. A "casino" was added; it was both an amphitheater and guesthouse, with twenty extra bedrooms. [...] All of this was completed by 1899.
  9. Lorett Treese (2006). Railroads of New Jersey. Stackpole Books. p. 161. ISBN 978-0-8117-4356-3. George Jay Gould, who named it Georgian Court, either after himself or the Georgian Revival style of his mansion[. / The sisters renamed the college] at the family's request.
  10. {{cite web|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NHLS/78001788_text|title=NHL nomination for Georgian Court|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=2020-04-06]}
  11. Axel-Lute, Paul (1986). Lakewood-in-the-Pines: A History of Lakewood, New Jersey. South Orange, NJ: The author. p. 84.
  12. Jeffries, Rosemary, "Transforming a College into a University", Presidential Perspectives: 2009/2010 Series, chapter 3, http://www.presidentialperspectives.org/pdf/2009/chapter03.pdf
  13. "Past Presidents". Georgian Court Univ.
  14. "Athletics/Campus Recreation | Georgian Court University, New Jersey". Georgian.edu. Retrieved 2017-08-26.
  15. By SETH BERKMANNOV. 28, 2013 (2013-11-28). "Once for Women Only, Georgian Court Looks to Men's Teams to Raise Profile - The New York Times". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 2017-08-26.

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