Bergen Community College

Bergen Community College
Type 2 Year College
Established 1965
President B. Kaye Walter, Ph.D.
Students 17,197
Location Bergen County, New Jersey, USA
Campus Paramus (Main)
Hackensack
Lyndhurst[1]
Colors      Pantone Purple
     Pantone Orange 021
Sports Soccer, Cross Country, Volleyball, Basketball, Wrestling, Softball, Track and Field, Tennis, Golf and Baseball
Nickname Bulldogs
Website www.bergen.edu

Bergen Community College is an accredited, co-educational, two-year, public community college located in Bergen County, New Jersey. Its primary campus is in Paramus where it was built on 9 holes of the Orchard Hills Golf Course, cutting Orchard Hills' size down in half. The school was founded in 1965.

As of 2009, more than 17,000 students are enrolled in Associate's degree programs, and another 10,000 students in non-credit, professional development courses through the Division of Continuing Education. The Philip J. Ciarco Learning Center in Hackensack, offers adult basic skills, English as a Second Language, non-credit, and credit courses.[2]

Bergen Community College has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools since 1972, and was most recently reaccredited in 2006.[3] Individual programs are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs; the National League for Nursing; the American Dental Association; the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology; The National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Services; and the American Physical Therapy Association. The Paralegal Studies Program and the Legal Nurse Consultant Program are approved by the American Bar Association.

The president of Bergen Community College is Dr. Kaye Walter.

Increase of enrollment

As of Fall of 2009 semester there have has been a 17% increase in the number of enrolled from Fall of 2008, bringing the number of enrolled students to 17,000 students in the 2009 Fall semester.[4]

Athletics

The college colors are Pantone Purple and Pantone Orange 021. Bergen Community College sports teams are nicknamed the Bulldogs.

BCC is a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association in Region XIX (New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania) and of the Garden State Athletic Conference. Bergen offers 12 sport teams to eligible students:[5]

Free speech controversy

After Francis Schmidt, a tenured professor, filed a grievance over denial of sabbatical leave,[6] the college suspended him, claiming that a photo he posted to social media of his seven-year-old-daughter wearing a t-shirt quoting Game of Thrones character Daenerys Targaryen could be construed as a threat of violence against college officials.[7] It also required Schmidt to visit a psychiatrist before returning to campus. The suspension was soon rescinded, with Schmidt receiving back pay for the suspension period[8] Later that year, the college faculty cited the incident as a factor in its vote of "no confidence" in college president Kaye Walter.[9] A college spokesman eventually acknowledged to Schmidt that "By sanctioning you as it did, BCC may have unintentionally erred and potentially violated your constitutional rights, including under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution”.[8] The Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression conferred one of its annual Jefferson Muzzle Awards for "the past year’s most outrageous and ridiculous affronts to free speech and press" on the college administration, declaring that it had "demonstrat[ed] its collective cluelessness on two distinct levels".[10]

See also

References

Coordinates: 40°57′07″N 74°05′38″W / 40.951965°N 74.09384°W / 40.951965; -74.09384

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