Stockton Announces First Comprehensive Campaign

As part of its , the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey announced its first comprehensive giving campaign on Wednesday, Sept. 21.

“You Make the Difference, the Campaign for Stockton College” hopes to raise $20 million in support of students education and experience by June 30, 2014, the college announced. More than $12.9 million was raised during what the college is calling the campaign’s “silent phase.”

“We are quite confident in our ability to reach it and go beyond,” Stockton President Herman J. Saatkamp said. “Scholarships, need-based financial aid and funds that support efforts to enhance academic and student programming are our highest priorities.”

Saatkamp noted the particular need for philanthropic support during difficult financial times. The college also noted that New Jersey’s public colleges have gone through two decades of “waning state funding.”

“Many highly qualified students rely on scholarships and grants to attain their degrees and to pursue their aspirations,” Saatkamp said. “Community support of Stockton is more important than ever before.”

“Stockton has been a College of Distinction since its earliest roots in the former Mayflower Hotel on the Atlantic City boardwalk,” Chief Development Officer and Executive Director of the Richard Stockton College Foundation Phillip Ellmore said. “Stockton is one of the top-rated public colleges in the nation. We retain our rich tradition in liberal arts while offering expanded curriculum in the health sciences and professional studies.

"We represent an exceptional value and wish to maintain our accessibility and affordability. A donation to our Comprehensive Campaign helps us to continue to deliver a high quality educational experience.”

A pair of Stockton graduates showed support for the campaign and spoke about the importance of their college degrees.

“The day I graduated I began dining on the banquet of dreams that were fostered in the four years I spent with the brilliant minds of Stockton’s beautiful campus,” said Summer Hill Seven, a 1987 graduate and an award-winning writer, performer and film producer.

“Stockton opened up a world I didn’t know existed,” said Caroline “Cookie” Till, a 1983 graduate and successful restaurateur and entrepreneur. “You could say my college years at Stockton were transformative.”

Stockton has more than 8,000 graduate and undergraduate students enrolled in a wide array of majors, including the arts, sciences and professional studies. According to the college, Stockton has produced more math and science majors than any other state college or university in recent years, a total of 25 percent.

“The scholarship meant that I could stay in school,” said Kenan Kurt, a political science major. 

“Without the scholarship I don’t know what I’d do,” Amy Konczal, a bachelor of fine arts major said her scholarship meant “a chance to pursue a dream I feared would never come to fruition.”

For more information on the campaign, or to make a contribution, contact Ellmore at 609-626-3546 or by email at Phillip.Ellmore@stockton.edu.