will enhance college
Officials believe move
will enhance college’s
academics, diversity
By joyce blay
Staff Writer
PHOTOS Courtesy of Georgian Court College A women’s college by day, with coed classes at night, Georgian Court College, Lakewood, is looking to expand its offerings in its quest to become a university.
LAKEWOOD — Once the winter retreat of George Jay Gould, wealthy scion and heir to the estate of railroad tycoon Jay Gould, this 155-acre former playground of the rich and famous may soon undergo its next metamorphosis since becoming home to Georgian Court College in 1924.
In 18 months, the college founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1908 will be poised to become an international magnet for aspiring teachers and students from all over the world as it seeks to upgrade its status from college to university.
"Becoming a university is a natural extension of the mission of the Sisters of Mercy, (the Catholic order of nuns) which founded this college," said Eduardo Paderon, Ph.D., provost and chief academic officer of Georgian Court College. "Women come here to foster their educational and academic growth — both as leaders in their community and in the world as a whole."
Part of that goal, said Paderon, is to give the school international credibility, even as it continues to shine as one of the great sources of teaching professionals throughout the state.
Georgian Court College, Lakewood, was once the winter retreat of George Jay Gould, heir to the estate of railroad tycoon Jay Gould.
"We are not going international (just) to bring more students to campus; we want to expose our students to diversity," Paderon said. "It’s part of the education we want them to have because America is not isolated. The shrinking of the world makes it imperative that we give them the education they need to succeed in it."
Georgian Court College faculty remain mindful of their obligation to produce graduates able to cope with an ever more complicated world. According to Paderon, the campus itself may soon reflect the same dynamic diversity as Lakewood itself, where the college is located, and whose residents are the beneficiaries of services provided by college interns both on and off campus.
"Lakewood is a very diverse town and is a microcosm of where the U.S. will be (in just a few years)," he said. "As a university, we hope we can attract better companies to Ocean County (too)."
Officials at the college are not satisfied with establishing reciprocity only between the school and municipalities within the region and state. If certified as a university, Georgian Court College would educate students from many other countries as well as enrolling American students in more overseas programs and internships. According to Paderon, this would create an environment that would bring enlightenment and understanding to all. And it would also bring other benefits, he said.
"Being a university makes us more attractive to funding organizations," he said. "They know that what they give to us will be a very good investment. All-women’s colleges have decreased in recent years, and it is now becoming more attractive to foundations who have a special interest in fostering their growth."
Although its evening division is coeducational, the day division remains exclusively female. However, that does not mean that the college will remain an insulated ivory tower, said Paderon. Whether students from abroad study at Georgian Court College or the college’s students study at accredited universities overseas, tuition and academic programs will continue to remain stable. But diversity is not expected to come without growing pains, according to Paderon, and the college has already put into place several key personnel whose job will be to facilitate the changes that are necessary.
One of those key players is Mary Lee Batesko, Ed.D., special assistant to the president for university status, and former chair of the School of Education. She will spearhead the process to become a university that Georgian Court College must follow. Once she and other Georgian Court College faculty and staff are satisfied that they have met all the prescribed guidelines as laid out by the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education and the Middle States Association (MSA), they will formally apply for university status. Those organizations will then dispatch a team of investigators to determine whether the college meets their criteria after a six-month study.
The criteria the college must meet will be primarily academic in nature, rather than a physical restructuring, with the possible exception of the library, and for the most part will focus on the school’s graduate programs.
The first need is organizational, and will deal with issues ranging from funding and organization of programs to the qualifications of those who will teach them.
The second criterion is that of financial support. Georgian Court College’s commitment to its graduate programs will be gauged by how much it funding it allocates for them.
Quality control, faculty achievement and most important, student body makeup and admission criteria will be the most urgent items that Georgian Court College must research and describe to state and association assessors. However, rounding out the requirements are its academic support services and record of public service. The college staff must also provide a history of the school as well as its mission, with an emphasis on graduate education.
"We have to prepare a petition to be presented to the state requesting university status," said Batesko.
"And for this former head of Georgian Court College’s education department, the qualified teachers it graduates each year are the jewel in its academic crown, and nothing is as critical as communicating that importance to judging officials of the state and the MSA.
"Teaching is more than a job, it’s a calling," she said emphatically.
But the college must convince not only officials that it is ready for university status, it must also change the minds of its students, faculty, staff and even an apathetic public that might know or care less that this move is one that will benefit all. And that job falls to Evelyn Saul Quinn, M.S.W., associate provost for academic support and student life programs.
"(My) biggest challenge is to help everyone understand that this is an overreaching process that involves everyone," she said. "Faculty and students have to want this to happen, and not remain passive participants. My goal is to help people understand their role in this new world.
"We’re changing, and the key will be to hold onto the best of what we are and what we can become," she continued.
That task has already taken root among students at the school, particularly those whose education remains the primary focus of its founders’ mission — young women.
Krista Thompson, 20, a junior studying history and secondary education at Georgian Court College, is already a star athlete there. A resident of Pittsgrove, she hopes to be student teaching in Lakewood, even as she aspires to a professional career as a basketball player. However, her thoughts on the topic of university status underscore the challenge that Georgian Court College officials face.
"I think it’s a great idea, but I don’t know why," she said.
Even if some students are not clear on how university status for the school will affect them in the short run, others see the future in a different light.
Yanci Pereira, 21, a junior in business administration and Spanish, wants a career in international business. A resident of West New York, university status is crucial to her plans.
"I think there will be more international programs offering reciprocity," she said.
Pereira was also concerned with European perception of what the word college conveyed over there, which is that of a high school rather than an institution of higher learning. A change in name from Georgian Court College to Georgian Court University would mean the respect of all those who saw it on her résumé in the future — and not just foreigners.
"Where I live in West New York, people never heard of Georgian Court College," she said.
Like Pereira, Sandra Davis, 21, a senior at the college, also favors university status. A major in special and elementary education, the Plainsboro resident sees the change as beneficial in creating more internships for which she can qualify.
Although Georgian Court College is a school founded by a religious order, and in spite of a proliferation of religious symbols that proclaim its Catholic affiliation, it is nevertheless open to students of all faiths. Davis said she is Jewish.
"Even the art department is growing, so hopefully people who are not familiar with this school will begin to associate it with more than just education majors," she said.