By SNJ Today Staff 

NEW CASTLE, DE –
On Thursday, June 14th, Camden County College (CCC) and Wilmington University (WilmU) teamed up to bring residents of Camden County affordable, WilmU bachelor’s and master’s degrees—on the campus of CCC in Blackwood and Camden City, NJ, and 100-percent online.

CCC President Donald A. Borden said, “Like WilmU, Camden County College wants to provide accessible and affordable, high quality educational opportunities for students to seamlessly transfer to four-year degree programs that would otherwise have cost them thousands of dollars more during their first two years in college.

This partnership is just another example of the many opportunities available to students who choose to take advantage of the both the high quality education and the fiscal rewards offered by completing their A.A. or A.S. degrees on our campus.”

“Wilmington University will serve Camden County College students and alumni with the same degree of care they have come to know from CCC, while providing strong bachelor’s and master’s degree completion programs. Our partnership offers students the opportunity to earn in-demand, higher-level degrees without leaving the area,” said Dr. LaVerne Harmon, President of Wilmington University.

Dr. Jacqueline Varsalona, Vice President of Institutional Advancement at WilmU, adds, “Our agreement allows Camden County College students and alumni to seamlessly transfer into Wilmington University programs right at Camden County College, or through our award-winning online campus, which provides the flexibility many working adults need.”

WilmU helps Camden County College students maximize their transfer credits by accepting their entire associate degree—up to ninety credits—toward a bachelor’s degree completion program.

Camden County College’s Transition to College Program helped 26 students earn high school diplomas and college credit
By SNJ Today Staff

Camden County College is giving students who never finished high school a second chance at earning their degree.
Camden County College’s Transition to College Program recognized 26 former at-risk high school students, on Wednesday, June 13th, from six partner high schools at a completion ceremony.

The program, now in its sixth year, has a 92-percent graduation rate and gives individuals a second opportunity to further their education and improve their futures.

Officials say the program demonstrates the county’s commitment to educational opportunities and gives students a unique chance to get back on track.

Students in the program received their high school diplomas and gained a head start on college credits so they can continue their education.

Read full article & watch video

By Phaedra Trethan as seen in Courier Post Online

CAMDEN — As Dana Redd spoke Wednesday, a construction worker standing four stories above the ground began pounding a steel beam with a sledgehammer, punctuating the former mayor’s sentences, the sound echoing off nearby buildings.

Back on terra firma, another steel beam was adorned with signatures and messages inscribed in black Sharpie ink that told the story of Camden over the last few years.

“JHSC (Joint Health Sciences Center) Innovation & Collaboration!” wrote Redd, who now heads the Rowan University-Rutgers Camden Board of Governors, referencing the building that would soon receive the beam in a topping-off ceremony. “Another great step forward for Camden,” wrote former New Jersey Gov. Jim Florio.

“Gov. Christie!” someone else wrote without signing his or her name. “The man who remade Camden!” Christie, still governor, was in Camden in October when ground was broken on the center on Broadway.

And, at the end, “EDA was here,” a nod to the billions in state aid and tax incentives that have lured corporations like Holtec International, Subaru of America and American Water to move to Camden, and enabled longtime city institutions like Rutgers, Rowan and Cooper University Hospital to expand their respective, and in this case shared, footprints in the city.

Redd was joined by her successor, Mayor Frank Moran, and her predecessor at the Rowan-Rutgers board, Kris Kolluri, as well as Florio, state legislators, city officials and the presidents of Rutgers University, Rowan University and Camden County College at the ceremony.

She said the 95,000-square-foot center, slated to open in spring 2019, will be the first of its kind in the state, offering labs, classrooms and other facilities for three educational institutions — Rowan, Rutgers and Camden County College — under one roof.

But its significance for the city went beyond education, said Kolluri, now CEO of Cooper’s Ferry Partnership.
“This is four years in the making, and it is arguably the most significant piece of the eds and meds corridor in downtown Camden,” he noted. “This is a continuation of the narrative that the eds and meds corridor is vibrant and adaptive to a changing environment.”

Kolluri recalled how, when he was on the Rowan Rutgers Board, “this was still just a drawing on a piece of paper.”

His message on the beam proclaimed the building “a masterpiece” that has “shown NJ what true collaboration looks like.”

Kama Jean-Juste, a 2015 graduate of the city’s Woodrow Wilson High School, said he’s worked as a medical assistant at nonprofit Project HOPE and plans to continue his education at the Joint Health and Sciences Center, studying psychology at Rowan.

“Camden is my home,” he said. “I shouldn’t turn my back on it the first chance I get. I should use my future success to help children here reach their desires, other than what they’ve been labeled to be.”

We did not approve of the negative protest that took place on our campus on Monday, and was organized by an external group. However, as a public institution we are legally bound to allow any group to assemble and exercise its 1st amendment rights. Despite very negative rhetoric, our students, faculty, staff and public safety officers were professional and restrained. As difficult an experience as this was, we were encouraged by the support, concern, and love shared by those who were victimized by this affront on decency. That said, Camden County College is proud of our students who, the very next day, organized a peaceful gathering in the same courtyard. These photos exemplify what Camden County College does support.

by Jim Walsh as featured in Courier Post

Officials are considering development of an indoor athletic complex at the Blackwood campus of Camden County College.

The project could support new programs that would “attract more diverse students to play college athletics,” said Don Borden, the school’s president.

It also could “help fill in some other community pieces that may be missing,” he added.

For instance, Borden said, the complex might host events “that are too large for typical high school gyms but too small for other large complexes like the Liacouras Center,” a 10,000-seat facility at Temple University in Philadelphia.

The county school’s current facility, the Joseph Papiano Gymnasium, can seat about 2,400 people.

Camden County’s Improvement Authority is currently seeking bids for a feasibility study on the project.

The bid request notes the complex is intended to allow for uses “that could provide additional revenue streams.”

“There is no question sports tourism is a big market,” said Borden. “Other areas have developed all types of event centers to capture this sector.”

“If the study comes back positive, we will explore all options as long as there is no negative impact to the finances or enrollment of the college,” he said.

Athletic facilities can be a factor when students choose a school, officials say.

“Adding new sports teams brings in students who might have skipped over community college and gone right to a four-year school,” Bill Banks, director of athletics, said last week in announcing the return of track and field to the county school.

Track and field events, last seen at the Blackwood campus 30 years ago, are to resume in January 2019, the school said.