In what the school is marketing as a "defining moment," Caldwell College now has university status.
After 75 years as a college, the institution expects to benefit from the name change because "students who want to go on to graduate school or who graduate from one of our master’s or doctoral programs, there is prestige in graduating from a university," President Dr. Nancy Blattner said in a statement.
The New Jersey secretary of higher education officially approved the college's petition to change the name on Dec. 9, 2013, but the school waited until July 1 to roll out the new status to start the 2014-15 fiscal year.
“It is a new day and thrilling for all of us, especially for everyone who worked on the rigorous process to get us to this point," Blattner said.
The school plans to celebrate its 75th anniversary during Homecoming Weekend Friday and Saturday, Sept. 19 and 20, and throughout the academic year.
“This is certainly a defining moment in many ways for Caldwell," Blattner said. "We are celebrating our 75th anniversary; we have added two new doctoral programs in educational leadership, and our strong master’s programs are graduating students who are doing outstanding work in their fields. In the fall we will be greeting our largest freshman class in our history and we will have the most students we have ever had living on campus.”
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