Our 250th Anniversary Year Begins November 10

Revolutionary ImagesSeptember 22, 2015

Members of the Rutgers Community:

Rutgers’ 250th anniversary is almost here! The celebration begins November 10, 2015, and continues until our milestone anniversary on November 10, 2016. With pride in our standing as one of America’s original colleges and one of its most revolutionary, I invite you to take part in the wide array of anniversary-related events and activities scheduled for the coming year.

Preparations for Rutgers 250 are well under way:

  • Each chancellor has designated a coordinating group to plan and produce with the central Rutgers 250 office activities at each university, as well as across Rutgers. These efforts are being led by Gloria Rodriguez at Rutgers University–Newark, Loree Jones and Kristen Walker at Rutgers University–Camden, Gwendolyn Mahon and Robert Schwartz at Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, and Linda Schulze at Rutgers University–New Brunswick.
  • Pole and building banners marking the anniversary have been installed in Newark, Camden, New Brunswick, and Piscataway.
  • At new student orientation at Rutgers–New Brunswick this summer, students watched a video focused on Rutgers’ rich history and traditions, and received backpacks sporting the tagline, “Revolutionary for 250 Years.”
  • At the Zimmerli Art Museum, an exhibit on the remarkable career of Simeon De Witt, Class of 1776 graduate and George Washington’s chief cartographer during the Revolutionary War, has opened and will continue throughout the academic year.

On our 249th birthday, Tuesday, November 10, at 4:00 p.m., we will kick off our yearlong Rutgers 250 commemoration with fanfare on the lawn of Old Queens, our oldest university building. The Charter Day festivities will include refreshments, a fife and drum corps, displays of Rutgers artifacts, actors portraying famous figures from our history, premiere screenings of the anniversary video Our Revolutionary Spirit, the sounding of bells by everyone in attendance to ring in the anniversary year, and lots more. This is an opportunity for students, faculty, staff, and alumni to come together from across Rutgers. All are welcome!

I will be in touch in October with additional details about upcoming anniversary events and activities. In the meantime, mark your calendars for November 10 and help spread the word about Rutgers 250. If you have questions, please contact the Rutgers 250 office at rutgers250@rutgers.edu.

Sincerely,

Bob Barchi