District 9 Representatives Understand Importance of Stockton College

State senator Christopher Connors remembers the when it had two pool tables and a pub on campus. There wasn't a lot to keep students on campus.

Things have changed since 1978.

The campus is bigger, the school’s presence is farther reaching and incoming freshmen for the 2011-12 school won’t take, ‘We don’t have any place for you to live’ for an answer.

On thing that has remained has been Connors and his support. The legislator has always been a vocal advocate for the school, and now that Galloway Township has been redistricted into his jurisdiction, his role in helping the college is expanding.

“We’re going to have greater involvement now,” said Connors, who toured the school Tuesday morning alongside Assemblyman Brian Rumpf and Assemblywoman DiAnne Gove. “When they’re in your district, they become your responsibility. Before, I had become one of the more vocal advocates for the college, but I was always mindful of the boundaries and lines as far as the other legislators are concerned. Now, rather than being a casual supporter, the expectation is that we’ll be more involved in what goes on.”

And there is a lot going on, notably the potential for the school to host a during the 2012 election. The school applied to be one of four host sites earlier this year, and will learn its fate in November.

“It’s exciting to think about it,” Connors said. “It sounds like they have a good opportunity. … If it happens, it would be like having a Super Bowl in New Jersey. The vision of the school to pursue this is remarkable."

“I’m excited as a legislator and a former Social Studies teacher,” said Gove, whose niece works at the school. “It’s exciting for the whole area.”

“It will bring worldwide attention to the college and to the district,” Rumpf said. “It will showcase what a fantastic area this is, and I think we need to remind ourselves of that. We need to step back and realize we live in a unique area that other people are going to cherish and wish they lived in and that we need to cherish ourselves.”

While the three Republican legislators are excited by the prospect, Stockton President Herman J. Saatkamp is trying to remain level headed about the possibility.

“If it happens, it would be wonderful and a real benefit to the area,” Saatkamp said.

Saatkamp has plenty to be excited about, and it showed during Tuesday’s visit by the legislators. Saatkamp, Special Assistant to the President for External Affairs and Executive Director of the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy Sharon Schulman, Political Science Professor Michael Rodriguez, Director of the William J. Hughes Center for Public PolicyDan Douglas and Tim Kelly, of the Office of Public Relations escorted the representatives on a tour of the college, which included the new campus center, the holocaust resource center and concluded with a trip to the Seaview for lunch.

During a meeting prior to the tour, Saatkamp spoke about the college’s development in advance of its 40^th anniversary, the celebration for which will kick off Sept. 21.

He spoke of the college’s concern for remaining a “green” college while developing at a rapid rate, which is illustrated by the abundance of freshmen eager to begin their education at the college in September.

“We have 1,000 students in the freshman class,” Saatkamp said. “There are 40 on the waiting list that we have told we don’t have a place for them.”

He said that despite the Seaview being available to house 50 students and the Clarion Hotel being available to benefit others, the need for dormitories is still obvious.

Connors recalled a time when the class size was small and there was a smaller student-to-teacher ratio. He said that even with the tremendous growth the college has seen, he doesn’t expect to see Stockton lose its small, liberal arts college charm.

“The ratio is still among the best,” Connors said. “It’s the culture of the institution, and I expect them to maintain that relationship between the faculty and the students. I don’t think anything will change in terms of interaction.

“I think they are breaking away from their image of being tucked away in the pines. … Their presence is fairly prominent.”

All three legislators were impressed by the way Stockton, and , interact with the community.

“It’s important to have a hospital and a college in the town,” Gove said, comparing the situation to Ocean County College and the community hospital in Toms River. “They’re both community minded and they want to be part of the community. It’s important to have that working relationship.”

“They’re taking advantage of opportunities that exist to make a premier college right around the corner,” said Rumpf, whose wife is a Stockton alum. “They have the and they’re in Hammonton and Atlantic City, and those communities recognize the importance of having the college.”

And the college recognizes the importance of having support from the legislators.

“One of the nicest things is the relationship we had even before we were in their district,” Saatkamp said. “If something came up, we could always call them and now this enhances that. We also have the Atlantic City Campus, so the (District 2) representatives still represent us, and our Hammonton project is under way.”