Georgian Court University

History

Location

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

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.

In March 2022, GCU announced that it had reached an agreement to sell 42 acres of mostly unused land at the edge of its campus and several administrative buildings along Lakewood Avenue to Beth Medrash Govoha for an undisclosed sum. The proceeds of the sale will be used to construct a new center for nursing and health sciences, to reimagine its Casino building (currently used as a multi-purpose office and event space) as a modern student center, to update its Mansion building (currently used for receptions) to be used as an administration hub, and to modernize its student housing/dorm facilities.

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 the Georgian Court estate and moved the college there, renaming it Georgian Court College.

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.

In 2015, Joseph R. Marbach became the first male and first permanent lay president. On February 6, 2025, Eugene J. Cornacchia became the University's interim president following Marbach's retirement.

Academics

Georgian Court offers more than 35 undergraduate majors and 10 graduate majors through the School of Arts and Sciences, the School of Business and Digital Media, and the School of Education. In July 2021, the university formally created the Hackensack Meridian Health School of Nursing & Wellness at Georgian Court to house its undergraduate and graduate nursing programs. 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 Lincroft, New Jersey (at Brookdale Community College's Northern Monmouth Campus), online and at other locations.

Rankings

In 2024, U.S. News & World Report ranked Georgian Court No. 95 out of 171 Regional Universities North.

Undergraduate admissions

In 2024, Georgian Court accepted 75.8% of undergraduate applicants, with those enrolled having an average 3.59 high school GPA. The university does not require submission of standardized test scores, Georgian Court being a test optional school. Those enrolled that submitted test scores had an average 1150 SAT score (3% submitting scores).

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 67000 sqft 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.

Women's sports include basketball, cross country, lacrosse, soccer, softball, track & field, and volleyball. On August 3, 2022, GCU announced the addition of Acrobatics and Tumbling. The team began competition in 2024.

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. Men's lacrosse was added in Spring 2016. Baseball was added in Spring 2025.

One of the many historic aspects of the campus is that it houses a "real tennis" court that was built in 1899 in the Casino building (which was a "casino" in the 19th-century sense of the term: a place for social gatherings.) Approximately 45 real tennis courts are still in use in the world today. During a 2018 visit, Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh played on the court, which is the only such court at a university and the nation's second oldest.

Gallery

File:Georgian Court, Lakewood, NJ - Sunken garden and marble stairway.jpg|Sunken Garden and marble stairway Image:Georgian Court University - Japanese Garden.JPG|Japanese Garden Image:Georgian Court University - Sculptural detail.JPG|Sculptural detail File:Georgian Court, Lakewood, NJ - Casino, eastern entrance.jpg|The original Casino

References

References

1. (February 12, 2025). "U.S. and Canadian 2024 NCSE Participating Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2024 Endowment Market Value, Change in Market Value from FY23 to FY24, and FY24 Endowment Market Values Per Full-time Equivalent Student". National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO).
2. "GCU Fast Facts". Georgian Court University.
3. [https://mascothalloffame.com/mascots/roary-the-lion/ Roary the Lion], Mascot Hall of Fame. Accessed December 31, 2025.
4. (2008-06-23). "Georgian Court". National Park Service.
5. {{NRISref
6. (February 12, 2018). "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places – Ocean County". [[New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection]] – Historic Preservation Office.
7. ["National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Georgian Court"]({{NRHP url). [[National Park Service]].
8. Designated on February 4, 1985.
9. (2006). "History Walks in New Jersey". Rutgers Univ. Press.
10. Lorett Treese. (2006). "Railroads of New Jersey". Stackpole Books.
11. ["NHL nomination for Georgian Court"]({{NHLS url). National Park Service.
12. Goldman, Jeff. (March 23, 2022). "Largest yeshiva in U.S. to buy 42 acres from N.J. Catholic university for housing". Advance Publications.
13. "Undergraduate Catalog 2012-2013". Georgian Court University.
14. "Land Announcement". Georgian Court University.
15. Axel-Lute, Paul. (1986). "Lakewood-in-the-Pines: A History of Lakewood, New Jersey". The author.
16. (3 June 2023). "Past Presidents".
17. Lindner, Linda. [https://www.roi-nj.com/2025/02/05/education/former-saint-peters-university-leader-cornacchia-named-interim-president-at-georgian-court/ "Former Saint Peter's University leader Cornacchia named interim president at Georgian Court"], ROI-NJ.com, February 5, 2025. Accessed December 31, 2025. "Georgian Court University announced Eugene Cornacchia as its interim president, effective Feb. 6. With decades of higher education experience, Cornacchia will guide the university through its transition following President Joseph Marbach's decision to retire. Cornacchia's interim appointment will continue until June 30, 2026."
18. "Georgian Court University". [[U.S. News & World Report]].
19. "Georgian Court University Admission Requirements". CollegeSimply {{!}} U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics.
20. "Athletics/Campus Recreation {{pipe}} Georgian Court University, New Jersey". Georgian.edu.
21. Berkman, Seth.. (2013-11-28). "Once for Women Only, Georgian Court Looks to Men's Teams to Raise Profile". [[The New York Times]].
22. [https://gculions.com/news/2025/2/27/inaugural-georgian-court-baseball-season-starts-this-weekend.aspx "Inaugural Georgian Court Baseball Season Starts This Weekend"], Georgian Court University, February 27, 2025. Accessed December 31, 2025. "It's an historic week for Georgian Court University as the very first Baseball games will be played this weekend. Opponent Erskine Fleet (7-8, 3-3 Conference Carolinas)"
23. Oglesby, Amanda. [https://www.newspapers.com/article/asbury-park-press-prince-edward-to-play/187845951/ "Royal to play tennis at Georgian Court"], ''[[Asbury Park Press]]'', September 13, 2018. Accessed December 31, 2025, via [[Newspapers.com]]. "Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and youngest of Queen Elizabeth II's children, is scheduled to play a centuries-old form of tennis Thursday at Georgian Court University. Prince Edward will visit the univer- sity as part of a tour of the United States, where he will play real tennis, or court tennis....Georgian Court officials say the university's court tennis court, built in 1899, is the second-oldest in the United States and only American court tennis court on a university campus."