Rutgers Then and Now: Two Centuries of Campus Development: A Historic and Photographic Odyssey

Rutgers University has come a long way since it was granted a royal charter in 1766. As it migrated from a parsonage in Somerville, to the New Brunswick-sited Sign of the Red Lion tavern, to stately Old Queens, and expanded northward along College Avenue, it would both compete and collaborate with the city that surrounded it for room to grow.

Rutgers, Then and Now tells this story, proceeding through ten sequential development phases of College Avenue and Piscataway campus expansions--each with its own buildings and physical layouts--that took place over the course of 250 years. It delivers stunning photographic and historic documentation of the growth of the university, showing "what it was and appeared originally" versus "what it is and looks like today." Among other in-depth analyses, the book compares the diminutive geographic scale of today's historical College Avenue Campus--once the entirety of Rutgers--to the much larger-sized (in acreage) Busch Campus. Replete with more than 500 images, the book also considers the Rutgers campuses that might have been, examining plans that were changed or abandoned. Shedding light on the sacrifices and gifts that transformed a small college into a vital hub for research and beloved home for students, it explores how Rutgers grew to become a world-class university.

Author: James W. Hughes, David Listokin, Richard L. Edwards
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Published: 11/15/2024
Pages: 420
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 4.07lbs
Size: 11.25h x 8.56w x 1.21d
ISBN: 9781978824706

About the Author

JAMES W. HUGHES is both a University Professor and a Distinguished Professor of Urban Planning and Policy Development at Rutgers, where he served as Dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy from 1995-2017. He has authored or co-authored over 35 books, including America's Demographic Tapestry and Population Trends in New Jersey (both from the Rutgers University Press), and The Atlantic City Gamble (Harvard University Press).

DAVID LISTOKIN is a Distinguished Professor at Rutgers Bloustein School and is associate director of Bloustein's Center for Urban Policy Research. A leading authority on public finance, historic preservation and urban redevelopment, he has authored or co-authored 25 books, including New Brunswick, New Jersey: The Decline and Revitalization of Urban America (Rutgers University Press ) and Mortgage Lending and Race.

RICHARD L. EDWARDS is both a University Professor and Distinguished Professor who served as Chancellor of Rutgers-New Brunswick from 2012 to 2017. He previously served as Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the School of Social Work. He was Editor-in-Chief of the 19th edition of the Encyclopedia of Social Work. Included among his other publications are Building a Strong Foundation--Fundraising for Nonprofits and Leading and Managing Nonprofit Organizations. JONATHAN SCOTT HOLLOWAY is the twenty-first president of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. He is the author of The Cause of Freedom: A Concise History of African Americans.

REV. MICAH L. McCREARY, M.Div., Ph.D., LCP is the president of the New Brunswick Theological Seminary and RCA General Synod Professor. He is the author of Trauma and Race: A Pathway to Well-being.