A History of the Site, Founding, and Progress of Brookdale Community College
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
A History of the Site, Founding, and Progress of Brookdale Community College The Northern Monmouth County Branch of the American Association of University Women Published by Brookdale Community College, Lincroft, N.J. Copyright ©1978, 2005 & 2016 by Brookdale Community College All Rights Reserved CONTENTS Foreword to the 2016 Edition...........................................................................5 Foreword to the 2005 Edition...........................................................................6 Foreword to the 1978 Edition...........................................................................7 Introduction...........................................................................................9 The AAUW Committee ..............................................................................10 Acknowledgments.....................................................................................11 Part I, Section I: Beginnings............................................................................13 Part I, Section II: The Birth of Brookdale Farm..........................................................20 Part II, Section I: The Thompson Era...................................................................24 Part II, Section II: The Great Lady of Brookdale.........................................................40 Part III, Section I: The Founding.......................................................................60 Part III, Section II: The Impossible Dream ..............................................................79 Part IV, Section I: Brookdale in the 1970’s and 1980’s ..................................................106 Part IV, Section II: The 90’s and Beyond...............................................................109 Part V, Section I: The Banner Years ...................................................................112 Part V, Section II: Chaos, Transition, and Transparency .................................................116 Part V, Section III: Confusion, Collaboration, And Celebration .........................................118 Appendices ..........................................................................................122 Reference Notes......................................................................................130 Bibliography .........................................................................................147 A Triangle of Land FOREWORD TO THE 2016 EDITION 5 On July 18, 1967, the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders passed a resolution creating a public two-year college in the county. That act was the birth of Brookdale Community College. As we approach the fiftieth anniversary of that resolution, it’s good to pause a moment and reflect. From her inception, Brookdale has been fraught with controversy; indeed, whether Monmouth County even needed a community college was hotly contested. We have the advocacy of Freeholder Director Joseph Irwin and the commitment to social justice of the Northern Monmouth Chapter of the American Association of University Women to credit for our founding. This latest update of The Triangle of Land chronicles the continued evolution of Brookdale Community College, the County College of Monmouth, as she remains steadfast to her commitment to bettering Monmouth County through innovative education amid controversy. What was once a budding college with 306 students is now a college of roughly 14,000 credit students and another 14,000 non-credit learners. Over that time, the College has seen enrollment and funding surges and declines, a rapidly-changing local employment market, and significant demographic shifts. Still, that vision of opportunity and social justice articulated in those early days still drives us and has expanded beyond the Triangle of Land to six locations across Monmouth County, plus an online pro- gram that is large enough to be considered an additional location. Since 1967, Brookdale Community College has conferred 56,334 degrees upon 53,335 unique graduates, and tens of thousands more have benefited from other programs and services. Truly, no one in Monmouth County is really untouched by Brookdale Community College. The College once dubbed “The Impossible Dream” now celebrates 50 Years of Making Dreams Possible. Brookdale Community College is democracy’s college, allowing all learners to have the opportunity for success, building our local economy through partnerships with businesses and indus- try, and seeking always innovative means to help make dreams come true MAUREEN MURPHY President Brookdale Community College A Triangle of Land 6 FOREWARD TO THE 2005 EDITION In 1978, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the founding of Brookdale Community College, the Northern Monmouth County Branch of The American Association of University Women presented the College and the County with the first edition of A Triangle of Land – A History of the Site and the Founding of Brookdale Community College. Almost three more decades have passed since its publica- tion; Brookdale is nearing the 40-year mark. At this juncture, with Brookdale entering true maturity, it is appropriate to take another look and bring the history of the College into the 21st century. It can honestly be said that the “Impossible Dream” of the early years has been met and surpassed, time and time again. New dreams, new possibil- ities, a continuum of growth and expansion. We at the College know that the stellar work of the more than 40 volunteers who labored on the original volume should and must be continued. Therefore, to mark the coming 40th anniversary, Brookdale presents to you a new A Triangle of Land. It contains every word of the first edition, plus information which recounts the excitement of the activities since those early days. In looking at the original’s introduction and foreword, some of these changes are evident – no more typewriters, no more “slightly musty back stacks of The College Library.” But the words of Joan Grantges, who coordinated the original publication, are still at the heart of the College’s mission – “the community coming together to do something for the commu- nity.” Our mission statement, presented in its entirety on the following page, reflects our respect for the past, our dedication to the present, and our aspirations for the future. It is proof that Brookdale, no longer the new kid on the block, remains at the heart of the Monmouth County community, still student-centered, still changing lives, one by one. MARY CHRISTIAN CLARK Marketing Services (1978-2011) Brookdale Community College A Triangle of Land FOREWORD TO THE 1978 EDITION 7 If you accept 1968 as “the beginning,” Brookdale Community College is ten years old this year. Being ten years old is not in itself much of an achievement…at least for a college. The ten tiny candles on Brookdale’s cake flicker dimly indeed in the deep, ivy-hung shadows of our nation’s older hallowed halls of learning. Still, Brookdale has just cause to mark the occasion. Brookdale celebrates not the achievement of the great age of ten. Brookdale celebrates the dynamic new dimension the college has given to life in Monmouth County, New Jersey, in ten short, fast years. Brookdale celebrates the fruition of the idea of a few forward-thinking citizens to provide for all citizens a diversity and excellence of educational opportunity worthy of national recognition. Brookdale is unique…a product of its community and, to a considerable degree, of its environment. The geographic and historic characteristics of Monmouth County, the 100-year-old barns in which the first students started, the rural beauty of Brookdale Farm, the memory of the strong-minded and public- spirited Geraldine Thompson, even the Derby-winning filly named “Regret” who was bred and trained here…all have influenced the nature of Brookdale Community College. Since ten years is such a short time in itself, and since some of the things that make Brookdale what it is go back ten times ten years and more…what better way to mark our tenth birthday than to publish a history of the “triangle of land” on which we stand today and of the people who lived on it and loved it before us? In July, 1976, we enlisted the aid of the Northern Monmouth County Branch of the American Association of University Women…an organization that had played a key role in the establishment of the college and has maintained a significant volunteer relationship with Brookdale in numerous activities. We asked if they would research and write a history of Brookdale from early colonial times through the establishment of the college. Typical of AAUW, they tackled the project with the greatest enthusiasm and skill…and the end result is in your hands. But it didn’t get there easily! Hundreds of pages of notes were accumulated in researching archives and libraries. Fifty people related to the college and to the farm were interviewed and transcribed tapes ran to 1500 typewritten pages. In the fifteen months from inception of actual work to final edited manuscript, more than forty volunteers put in 3100 hours of work, not counting typing time. We can never adequately thank either the women of AAUW or the people of the community who gave their time so freely for the interviews. We can only hope that they will hear spontaneously from appreciative readers and thereby enjoy some small part of the recognition they deserve. PHILIP C. CARLING Executive Director, Public Affairs (1971-1983) Brookdale Community College A Triangle of Land A Triangle of Land INTRODUCTION