Rowan College at Burlington County

History

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

Locations

Mount Laurel Campus

thumb|Entrance and sign 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

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.

Former Pemberton Campus

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 site off County Route 530. 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.

Athletics

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.

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."

Notable alumni

• Zach Braddock (born 1987), former professional baseball player
• Mario Cerrito (born 1984), film director and producer
• Ant Clemons (born 1991), singer
• Denver Riggleman (born 1970), businessman and former politician who served one term as the United States representative for Virginia's 5th congressional district

References

References

1. Kennedy, Mike. (May 19, 2023). "6 years after New Jersey community college moves to new campus, its former home sits mostly abandoned.".
2. [https://www.courierpostonline.com/story/sports/2021/05/05/athletics-programs-shut-down-rowan-college-burlington-county/4963861001/ Athletics programs to shut down at Rowan College at Burlington County] by Tom McGurk at the ''Courier Post'', 5 May 2021
3. "Zach Braddock - Stats".
4. "Rowan College at Burlington County - NJCAA Stats".
5. Kuperinsky, Amy. (December 17, 2019). "N.J.'s Ant Clemons went from waiting tables to working with Kanye West. Next up: The Grammys".
6. "Denver L. Riggleman III". [[Eagleton Institute of Politics]].