Stockton University is a public university in Galloway Township, New Jersey, United States. It is a part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. It is named after Richard Stockton, one of the New Jersey signers of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. Founded in 1969, Stockton enrolled its first class in 1971. Stockton is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. The university has a second campus located in Atlantic City.
History In November 1968, New Jersey approved a $202.5 million (equivalent to $ million in ) capital construction bond issue with an earmarked $15 million (equivalent to $ million in ) designated for the construction of a new state college in Southern New Jersey. In 1969, a tract was selected for the campus in the heart of the New Jersey Pine Barrens in Galloway Township. The school's trustees narrowed down final name options as either "Southern Jersey State College", "South Jersey State College", "Atlantic State College", and "Jersey Shore State College" before settling on "South Jersey State College." However, the school quickly sought another name, due to confusion between the new College and Rutgers College of South Jersey. The trustees considered naming the college after one of New Jersey's five Signatories of the Declaration of Independence; Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, and Abraham Clark, before settling on Stockton. The reason why Stockton was chosen was never disclosed, nor properly recorded, with the school launching an investigation as to why in 2017.
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. Accreditation of Stockton State College by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools was first granted in December 1975.Stockton University Accreditation, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. Accessed April 8, 2008.
In 1993, the college's name was changed to the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. After the New Jersey Secretary of Higher Education approved Stockton's petition, the college was awarded university status and was officially renamed Stockton University on February 18, 2015.
Shortly after the toppling of the Robert E. Lee Monument in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the deadly aftermath of the Unite the Right rally, the school dismantled a bust of Richard Stockton on campus on August 25, 2017, partly due to Stockton's ownership of slaves, and partly because of a widespread flyer-spreading incident in favor of Unite the Right on campus at the same time. University leaders then announced they would make a special "contextual history exhibit" as the bust's new home with the school vowing to have an honest investigation into the prospect of a name change. Ultimately this was never done, and the bust was simply returned to its previous location by 2023. The university's president also announced that the university had already looked into changing its name for its 40th anniversary in 2009, but ultimately decided against it but that they were willing to have an "honest discussion" about a new name for its 50th anniversary in 2019.
In June 2020, the board of trustees passed a resolution on "Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice at Stockton" asking the president to create a committee to discuss changing the name. The president declined to create such a committee but the Faculty Senate created a 30-person task force to do just that and look into more practical issues of a name change such as the university's built up cultural identity, reception, and cost. The task force found that the student and faculty bodies were evenly split on the issue, as Stockton also suffered the "contentious accusation of being a traitor" due to the way he was released from British Custody during the American Revolution by Swearing an Oath to King George III vowing to forego politics during the war and resigning from Congress. In their final report, the task force found that Stockton University had no legal means of changing its name, and urged for the creation of such bylaws and for the President to at least consider a name change. On April 7, 2023, university president Harvey Kesselman went on an interview with WPGG, unequivocally stating that there would be no name change and Stockton was the only signer imprisoned and starved by the British. Ultimately, the school never did find why Stockton's name was chosen from among the New Jersey signatories.
Following a complaint from John F. Scarpa, a cable and cellular phone executive who donated millions of dollars to the college, in 2026 Stockton removed a statement from Professor Raz Segal about "Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza" from the webpage of the Stockton master’s program in Holocaust and Genocide Studies.
In the fall of 2017, Stockton University began constructing a new facility in the Chelsea neighborhood of Atlantic City. The addition was met with applause from local residents and community leaders, who hailed it as a redevelopment of the long-declining neighborhoods in Ward 5 of Atlantic City. The $220-million-campus opened in September 2018 and included a three-story academic center and apartment-style complex for student living called Kesselman Hall.
Presidents Richard E. Bjork"Stockton College – Highlights in Our History". , Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, 2013. Retrieved on 2013-03-26 from http://intraweb.stockton.edu/eyos/page.cfm?siteID=197&pageID=68. Peter M. Mitchell Vera King Farris"Friends, family remember Farris' faith and dedication", Press of Atlantic City, December 4, 2009, accessed March 26, 2013 Herman SaatkampStockton’s ‘You Make the Difference’ Campaign Raises $25.36 Million, Exceeding Goals Harvey Kesselman Joe Bertolino
Campus
In the 2010s, the university completed several major building projects and other initiatives. The new Campus Center opened its doors with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 7, 2011. The building was designed as a green, sustainable building which would be an inviting, inclusive, and exciting gathering place for the entire community.
Stockton opened a new $39.5-million Unified Science Center with state-of-the-art equipment in September 2013. The , three-story facility expands Stockton's School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (NAMS).
Seaview Resort In September 2010, as part of its expansion of its tourism and hotel management program in the School of Business, Stockton purchased the nearby Seaview Resort & Golf Course for $20 million."Stockton College closes $20 million Seaview purchase; talks planned with Galloway Twp. on how to make up lost taxes", The Press of Atlantic City, September 1, 2010 In 2010, Stockton established the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism (LIGHT), part of the Stockton School of Business in Atlantic City at Stockton's Carnegie Center."Dedication of Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism", School of Business, Stockton College of New Jersey, December 13, 2010. Retrieved on 2013-03-26 from http://intraweb.stockton.edu/eyos/page.cfm?siteID=150&pageID=74.
Stockton University officially completed the sale of the Stockton Seaview Hotel & Golf Club on July 31, 2018, to KDG Capital LLC of Florida for $21,070,000.
Atlantic City campus
The university has built an Atlantic City campus at the Boardwalk and Albany Ave, with student residences overlooking the beach and Boardwalk. Stockton University Atlantic City opened fall 2018 with more than 500 residential students and more than 1,800 students taking courses in the new Academic Center, built on the former site of Atlantic City High School. The project is a public-private partnership with Atlantic City Development Corp., or AC Devco, a non-profit modeled on New Brunswick Development Corp, which expanded Rutgers' New Brunswick campus. The project includes a parking garage topped by new offices for South Jersey Gas, with 879 parking spaces for use by the university, South Jersey Gas and the public; and an academic building that can accommodate up to 1,800 students. The university also owns and operates the nearby Rothenberg Building.
Funding sources for the Atlantic City campus include $50.4 million in bonds from the Atlantic County Improvement Authority from proceeds of almost $70 million in tax credits issued by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.
In 2023, Stockton opened Parkview Hall, a second Atlantic City residential complex for students. The 133,055-square-foot residential complex combines six stories of student housing and amenities, including 107 apartments capable of housing 416 students.
In December 2014, Stockton had purchased the shuttered Showboat Atlantic City hotel and casino for $18 million, with plans to develop a full-service residential campus awarding undergraduate and graduate degrees and other professional training programs. The former resort, dubbed the "Island Campus", would have been converted casino and employee spaces into classrooms, cafeteria space and offices for faculty and staff. Several floors of hotel rooms would be renovated into student housing, while the remaining rooms would be operated as a hotel. The House of Blues would be modified to house the school's performing arts programs.
Soon after, it was publicly disclosed that Trump Entertainment Resorts held a covenant to the property, preventing the site from being used as anything other than a casino. It was through this covenant that Trump Entertainment Resorts prevented Stockton's plans to open an Atlantic City campus on the Showboat property. President Saatkamp came under fire for making the purchase despite knowing about the covenant. The university reached a deal to lease the property from investor Glenn Straub, who planned to purchase the Showboat. Straub later sued the university to prevent Stockton from backing out of the deal. Stockton sold the Showboat property to Bart Blatstein in January 2016.
Student life Undergraduate demographics as of Fall 2025 Race and ethnicityTotal White Hispanic Black Asian Two or more races International student Unknown Economic diversity Low-income Affluent Stockton's Division of Student Affairs is organized to provide comprehensive programs and services to more than 8,800 students, including more than 3,000 students who reside in university facilities. These programs and services are intended to enhance campus life and enrich the academic programs of Stockton.Stockton Student Affairs website. Accessed November 3, 2014.
Stockton University is home to more than 200 official student clubs and organizations including a Student Senate. The Office of Student Development oversees all student clubs and organizations.
There are student media organizations, including the Argo, a student-produced newspaper. WLFR 91.7 (Lake Fred Radio) is the student-run FM radio station licensed to Stockton in 1984. Stockpot Literary Magazine is an annual literary publication featuring art, poetry and writing of Stockton students and alumni. The Stockton yearbook (The Path) is an historical record of the academic year.
Housing Stockton has six housing units on campus. Housing II and III are complexes of traditional three-story residence halls, while Housing I, IV and V are all apartment-style complexes of varying architectural character.