From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fairleigh Dickinson University is an American private university founded in 1942. It is the largest private university in New Jersey and is the only college or university to physically offer instruction in all 21 counties in New Jersey.[2][3]; While primarily based on two separate New Jersey campuses, Fairleigh Dickinson owns and operates two international campuses and has numerous partnerships with leading colleges and universities around the world. These partnerships, its NGO status with the United Nations and its Global Virtual Faculty Program form the basis for Fairleigh Dickinson's focus on global education.
[edit] Description
The institution has two main campuses: the College at Florham in Madison and Florham Park which is centered on the former estate of Florence Vanderbilt and Hamilton Twombly, and the Metropolitan Campus located close to New York City and spanning the Hackensack River in Teaneck and Hackensack. It also owns an international campus in Wroxton, England called the Wroxton College in Wroxton Abbey, which it acquired from Trinity College, Oxford University. Fairleigh Dickinson was the first American university to own a campus in England.[4] In 2007, the university began offering degree programs at a site in Vancouver, British Columbia.[5]
While both New Jersey campuses have a variety of courses and programs, the College at Florham emphasizes traditional liberal arts offerings, while the Metropolitan Campus is gradually placing more and more emphasis on professionally oriented study. The Metropolitan Campus, while it has residence halls, is largely a commuter campus. Fairleigh Dickinson is home to the QUEST program, where students can study any major and combine their bachelor's degree with a master's in education. FDU also offers AACSB-accredited graduate business courses through its Silberman College of Business. In 2007, Fairleigh Dickinson's Silberman College of Business was Ranked as one of the top 282 Business Schools in the country by Princeton Review. [6] The University has had long-standing connections with the United Nations, offering qualified students opportunities for internships with the UN and its associated agencies.[7]
Fairleigh Dickinson consists of four academic colleges: Becton College of Arts and Sciences (based at the College at Florham), University College of Arts, Sciences and Professional Studies (based on the Metropolitan Campus), Silberman College of Business, and Petrocelli College of Continuing Studies. The latter two colleges provide academic offerings at both New Jersey campuses. The Silberman College entrepreneurial studies program has been rated as one of the best in the U.S.[8]
Fairleigh Dickinson Knights logo
In intercollegiate athletics, the Metropolitan Campus competes in NCAA Division I, while the College at Florham competes in Division III, making it one of only a few schools in the United States to field both Division I and Division III teams. The teams at the Metropolitan Campus are known as the Knights, while the Florham Campus teams are known as the Devils.
In total, there are about 8,000 undergraduate (2,600-College at Florham, 5,400-Metropolitan Campus) and 3,500 graduate (1,000-College at Florham, 2,500-Metropolitan Campus) students of which many are international students from over 80 countries[9]; the majority of international students attend the Metropolitan Campus.
[edit] History
Fairleigh Dickinson University was founded by Dr. Peter Sammartino and his wife, Sylvia, in 1942 in Rutherford, New Jersey as a two-year college. It was named for its benefactor, Colonel Fairleigh S. Dickinson, Sr. (1858–1942), a co-founder of Becton Dickinson.[10] By 1948, Fairleigh Dickinson College expanded its curriculum to offer a four-year program. In that same year, the school received accreditation from the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. In 1956, the same year the University acquired the former Twombly-Vanderbilt estate in Madison, the institution was recognized as Fairleigh Dickinson University by the New Jersey State Board of Education.
In addition to the present campuses, Fairleigh Dickinson University operated campuses in Rutherford (where the University was founded) and in Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Operations on the Rutherford Campus were merged with the Metropolitan Campus in 1993 and the Rutherford Campus was later sold to Felician College. The St. Croix Marine Biology Lab was damaged beyond repair during Hurricane Hugo and was closed shortly afterwards. Ron Howard's award winning movie A Beautiful Mind was partly filmed at Fairleigh Dickinson-Florham Campus.[11]
In Fall of 2008 the College at Florham will kick off a year long celebration to mark the 50th anniversary of that campus.
[edit] Notable alumni
- Stephanie Adams, Playboy centerfold and author.[12]
- Brenda Blackmon, Chief Anchor WWOR-TV My9 News at Ten.[13]
- Mensun Bound, marine archaeologist.[14]
- Ron Brill, Co-Founder of Home Depot.[15]
- Richard Codey, former Governor and current State Senate President of New Jersey.[16]
- Robert E. Dunn, defense attorney.[17]
- John Gottman, Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Washington in Seattle.[18]
- Seth Greenberg, Virginia Tech Hokies head basketball coach.[19]
- Stewart Krentzman, President and CEO of Oki Data Americas, Inc.[20]
- Thomas P. MacMahon, current CEO, Laboratory Corporation of America[21]
- Peggy Noonan, columnist, author and former speechwriter for Ronald Reagan.[22]
- Gregory Olsen, American entrepreneur and astronaut.[23]
- John Spencer, late actor known for his role on The West Wing (did not graduate).[24]
- Samuel C. Scott, III, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, Corn Products International Inc.[25]
- Stephen Spiro, Vietnam War opponent, conscientious objector, received pardon by Gerald Ford
- Dennis Strigl, President and COO of Verizon Communications.[26]
- Ben Weinman, Guitarist for The Dillinger Escape Plan
- Bill Willoughby, Retired NBA Professional, who earned his FDU degree after skipping college and playing in the NBA.[27]
- Jay Horowitz, Director, Media Relations New York Mets
- ^ FDU Athletics Mission Statement, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Release date June 27, 2006. Accessed June 9, 2007.
- ^ Schemo, Diana Jean. "Tackling Foreign Students' Visa Troubles, Fairleigh Dickinson Finds Errors in I.N.S. Database", The New York Times, November 17, 2002. Accessed December 30, 2007. "The largest private university in New Jersey, Fairleigh Dickinson found itself tangled in bureaucracy over the last two months, as a problem in the I.N.S. computer system blocked foreign students accepted for admission this January from obtaining visas."
- ^ Hoovers.com Information Page for Fairleigh Dickinson University. Hoovers.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
- ^ History. Fairleigh Dickinson University. Retrieved on 2007-02-28.
- ^ About FDU-Vancouver, Fairleigh Dickinson University. Accessed August 6, 2007.
- ^ FDU Ranked top 282 Business School. FDU Website (2006). Retrieved on 2007-05-07.
- ^ United Nations Pathways. Fairleigh Dickinson University. Retrieved on 2007-02-28.
- ^ FDU named one of top entrepreneurial schools. FDU Magazine (2001). Retrieved on 2007-04-17.
- ^ International Students. Fairleigh Dickinson University. Retrieved on 2007-02-28.
- ^ "Sometimes the Grave Is a Fine and Public Place", New York Times, March 28, 2004. Retrieved on 2007-08-21. "Consider the eclectic group at rest in Hillside Cemetery in Lyndhurst: the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet William Carlos Williams and both founders of the former industrial giant Becton-Dickinson, Maxwell Becton and Fairleigh Dickinson, for whom the New Jersey university is named."
- ^ Film & Animation BA. Fairleigh Dickinson University. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
- ^ Goddessey biography. Retrieved on 2008-04-24.
- ^ Brenda Blackmon profile, WWOR-TV, accessed May 7, 2007. "Blackmon holds a bachelor's degree in communications from Fairleigh Dickinson University, and honorary doctorates from FDU and Caldwell College."
- ^ Mr Mensus Bound, St. Peter's College, Oxford. Accessed June 9, 2007.
- ^ Ron M. Brill profile, accessed May 7, 2007. "Mr. Brill is a graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University and recently retired as the Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of The Home Depot Inc. in Atlanta, Georgia."
- ^ Richard Codey profile, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed May 7, 2007.
- ^ Robert E. Dunn
- ^ John Gottman, Ph.D. profile, Redbook, accessed May 7, 2007. "He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Fairleigh Dickinson University in 1962 with a B.S. in Mathematics-Physics, obtained his M.S. in Mathematics-Psychology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1964."
- ^ Gergen, Joe. "Va. Tech coach experiences sense of family", Newsday, April 18, 2007. Accessed May 7, 2007. "Greenberg, a graduate of Plain.view JFK High School and Fairleigh Dickinson University, was drawn into the situation almost as soon as he walked into his office Monday morning."
- ^ Stewart Krentzman: President and Chief Executive Officer, Oki Data Americas, Inc.. Accessed June 24, 2007. "Mr. Krentzman graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck, NJ with a BA in Psychology and earned his MA in Human Resources from the New School for Social Research in New York City. "
- ^ Forbes Executive Pay 2001. Forbes.com (2001). Retrieved on 2007-05-07.
- ^ Peggy Noonan profile, Wall Street Journal. Accessed May 7, 2007. "She holds honorary doctorates from her alma mater, Fairleigh Dickinson University, and from St. John Fisher College, Adelphi University, Saint Francis College and Miami University. Ms. Noonan lives in New York."
- ^ Carroll, Kathleen. "FDU renames engineering school after $5M gift", The Record (Bergen County), May 4, 2006. Accessed June 9, 2007. "About 200 people gathered at Fairleigh Dickinson University on Wednesday to celebrate the university's largest-ever gift and the renaming of one of its schools. Alumnus and trustee Gregory Olsen, the world's third civilian astronaut and the founder of two fiber-optics companies, was greeted with a standing ovation..."
- ^ Lee, Jennifer. " Obituary: John Spencer, 'West Wing' actor", International Herald Tribune, December 19, 2005. Accessed June 9, 2007. "After high school, he attended Fairleigh Dickinson University but left without graduating."
- ^ Samuel C. Scott, Executive Profile and Biography, accessed March 7, 2008."Mr. Scott graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University with a Bachelors degree in Engineering in 1966 and an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University in 1973."
- ^ Dennis F. Strigl: President and Chief Operating Officer, Verizon Communications. Accessed June 9, 2007. "Strigl holds a degree in business administration from Canisius College in Buffalo, N.Y., and an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Rutherford, N.J., which named him to its Pinnacle Society for distinguished alumni."
- ^ "PRO BASKETBALL; At Age 44, Willoughby Earns College Degree", The New York Times abstract, May 24, 2001. Accessed May 7, 2007. "ABSTRACT - Bill Willoughby, one of first players to skip college entirely for career in NBA, earns degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey..."
[edit] External links
