Richard Stockton College of New Jersey

==
In November 1968, New Jersey approved a $202.5 million (equivalent to $1831.03 million in 2024) capital construction bond issue with an earmarked $15 million (equivalent to $135.63 million in 2024) designated for the construction of a new state college in Southern New Jersey. In 1969, a 1,600-acre (650-hectare) tract was selected for the campus in the heart of the New Jersey Pine Barrens in Galloway Township. The trustees originally named the school "South Jersey State College", but they later renamed it to "Stockton State College", in order to avoid confusion with Rutgers College of South Jersey.
In 1970, as construction began to run behind schedule, the trustees realized they needed an alternative location for the first class in 1971. They selected the historic Mayflower Hotel in Atlantic City as the temporary campus.
Classes began on schedule with the commencement of the first academic year in September 1971. The college took shape as 1,000 students (50 of whom were Educational Opportunity Fund students), …