Stockton has acquired Showboat Atlantic City and will transform the site into Stockton-Island Campus and University Park.

Stockton announced on Dec. 12 that it has acquired Showboat Atlantic City and will transform the 1.73-million-square-foot site into an island campus designed to spur economic and community development and help prepare Atlantic City’s workforce for the jobs of the future.

Towers 2 and 3 at the Stockton-Island Campus will include student housing, dining, parking and recreational facilities. The property will likely continue to operate as a hotel, with 479 rooms in Tower 1 available for guests, along with retail and restaurant amenities. 

Stockton intends to work with city, state, and county officials and the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) to develop a University Park neighborhood around the campus that will encourage entrepreneurship and support businesses.

“As our campus has expanded so too, has our commitment to enhance the knowledge, economy and workforce of the local and regional society. Our goal is to provide our students with opportunities to gain valuable hands-on experiences in the field, and facilitate economic and social change in Atlantic City,” said President Herman Saatkamp. “Stockton-Island Campus and University Park will be an academic community of professionals, students and support staff that will enhance Atlantic City’s culture and economy.”

The college expects to have the hotel portion of the Island Campus operating by late spring 2015, with some summer session classes to follow. Full academic programs are expected to begin in fall 2015. 

For answers to Frequently Asked Questions, visit Stockton-Island Campus FAQs.

For additional information, visit Stockton-Island Campus and University Park Showboat Higher Education Proposal.

Bruce Taboada and Maria Puerta-Acosta received Criminal Justice degrees.

William T. Daly, Distinguished Professor of Political Science, delivered the Commencement address and received a Doctor of Humane Letters from Stockton.

More than 700 students were awarded undergraduate and graduate degrees at Stockton’s Fall Commencement ceremonies on Dec. 14 on the college’s Galloway campus.

President Herman Saatkamp, who presided over the Commencement ceremony, told the gathering, “Our students are promises we make to a future we will not see, and at this graduation, with these fine students, you can see that we are delivering on our promises.”

“The families and friends of these graduates should be proud,” President Saatkamp said. “You also are delivering on your promise to the future of our community, state, nation, and the world. These graduates are not merely going through a transition, they are on a springboard that will catapult them to new heights and new responsibilities. Our future depends on their effort, skills, intelligences and hard work.”

President Saatkamp told the graduates: “The Stockton spirit of education and values will carry you a long way. When you leave this graduation today, do not forget the lessons learned at Stockton in building communities, in joining hands with others who may have different backgrounds and different views. You are our hope and our best future.”

William T. Daly, Distinguished Professor of Political Science, delivered the Commencement address and said Stockton graduates have distinctive educational advantages that will help them “navigate successfully in this change-dominated era.”

“Your Stockton education is, in fact, different and better and beautiful. And, as the educational offspring of that particular kind of education, so are you,” said Daly, a founding faculty member who remembers pigeons coming through the windows to land on his desk at the Mayflower Hotel on the Atlantic City Boardwalk in 1971, Stockton’s first year of classes.

Student Senate President Carl Archut Jr., a junior Liberal Studies major with concentrations in Leadership and Hospitality Management, delivered the student address. 

 “You entered this campus with dreams so enormous, they almost seemed unreachable,” Archut told the graduates. “Now, you are able to call those dreams, accomplishments.” 

The Stockton community celebrated Veterans Day during a ceremony outside the Campus Center on Nov. 11.

Stockton was recently named to the “Best for Vets: Colleges 2015” listing by Military Times, an organization comprised of the Army Times, Navy Times, Air Force Times and Marine Corps Times. The Stockton Veterans Program ranked at #22 among 100 four-year schools.

“Stockton is proud to be recognized for its Veterans Affairs program, which serves over 400 veterans and active-duty service members,” said President Herman Saatkamp. “Our student veterans lead the region with veteran graduation rates at over 94 percent, and they excel academically as well.” 

 “Best for Vets: Colleges 2015” uses a survey that requires schools to document services, special rules, accommodations and financial incentives offered to military and veteran students, as well as a description of the many aspects of veteran culture on a campus.

 “I am extremely proud of our veterans and our veteran support group, made up of faculty and staff. The Stockton College model, which is being used nationally, has a proven record of providing the very best support for veterans to succeed academically,” said Tom O’Donnell, assistant dean of Students/Veteran Affairs at Stockton. “I am honored to receive this recognition for the second consecutive year.”

Linda Cobb, Special Olympics Area 8 Committee member, Robert Ross, assistant director of Counseling & Health Services, and Carmen Bannon, Special Olympics Director of Areas and Outreach.

Stockton has been honored with the 2014 Volunteer Group of the Year Award from the Special Olympics New Jersey.

The Stockton volunteer group, headed by Robert Ross, assistant director of Counseling and Health Services, was recognized for its strong advocacy of Special Olympics New Jersey.

Activities include hosting a track and field meet in the spring, a floor hockey tournament, the 3K Jingle All the Way Run, a young athletes program, and the Unified Sports basketball and soccer programs.

Ross was cited as being instrumental in developing the Unified Sports and Young Athletes programs, partnering with the Athletics Department and Occupational Therapy students to work with the Special Olympians.

“I am truly inspired by the cooperative effort of the entire campus community and the culture of kindness demonstrated by so many of our students,” Ross said.

Stockton Seaview Hotel & Golf Club culminated its year-long Centennial celebration with a time capsule dedication on Nov. 12. 

The time capsule, which was 33.4” X 26.3” X 12” in dimension with a volume of 5.9 cubic feet and weighing just over 50 pounds, was filled with a range of curated items and memorabilia that represent Seaview and other Stockton-affiliated entities, notable South Jersey establishments, and objects that reflect today’s society and early 21st century way of life.  

Items included a DVD of Seaview’s most recent television commercial, an official 2014 Stockton yearbook, video commentary from President Herman Saatkamp stored on a thumb drive and official golf course flags.

The time capsule is slated to be unearthed and opened on the occasion of Seaview’s 200th Anniversary in the year 2114.