| The 1999-2000 school year brought positive changes, exciting developments, and diverse cultural events to the Ramapo campus. Follow this timeline for a sampling of " The Road to Excellence."
September 1999
- Oak Hall, a new five-story residence hall for students, opens its doors to 250 residents. Seventy-nine percent of first-time, full-time freshmen choose campus housing.
- The inaugural season of the Angelica and Russ Berrie Center for Performing and Visual Arts ushers in a year of diverse attractions from exhibitions to cutting-edge contemporary art, jazz to classical music, tap dancing to ballet, Shakespeare to children's shows.
- Fall Convocation features guest speaker Charles Osgood, host of CBS News Sunday Morning, news anchor, and Emmy-award winner.
- Gregory Z. Bukstein loans several pieces of an extensive Asian art collection to the College for a well-received exhibit. He also sets up a bequest of the collection to the College in honor of his brother, Andre Z. Pascal, and in gratitude for the opportunities that became available to them when they came to the United States.
- Former Governor Jim Florio addresses the Ramapo College Business Network.
- William Frech, Ph.D., associate professor of international business at Ramapo College, is awarded a Fulbright grant to lecture at the University of Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina during the spring and summer of 2000.
October 1999
- Hans King, one of the world's best-known theologians, speaks at Ramapo on the importance of developing a global code of ethics to encompass religion, business, and governments.
- Fulbright scholar Rico B. Zampetti, who works for the European Commission in Brussels on bilateral trade policies with the United States, lectures at Ramapo on transatlantic trade relations. The lecture is sponsored by the Columbians.
- The Greater Mahwah Chamber of Commerce launches an Endowed Scholarship Fund at Ramapo. A successful gala held in the Berrie Center supports their efforts.
- Imer B. Flores, Fulbright scholar from Mexico, spends the fall semester at Ramapo College's School of American and International Studies.
November 1999
- The College receives a grant to begin a new Governor's School of International Studies at the College, allowing Ramapo to host an intensive honors program for high school scholars who will study international education and global literacy issues each summer on campus.
- A grant from the New Jersey Higher Education Consortium on Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention funds the development of an alcohol/drug prevention model including a task force, media campaign, and a partnership with other colleges.
- Demetria Royals, professor of media arts, joins some 600 other community leaders from around the world at the first-ever conference of fellows from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation's National Leadership Program and International Leadership Program.
- For the second time, Ramapo College receives recognition for leadership in the field of student character development in The Templeton Guide: Colleges That Encourage Character Development. The College is named to the Templeton Honor Roll for its commitment to inspire students to lead ethical and civic-minded lives.
- The Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies at Ramapo College hosts the Raoul Wallenberg Humanitarian Leadership fund-raising dinner, honoring Maud Dahme, president of the New Jersey State Board of Education and child survivor of the Holocaust.
December 1999
- Shona Tucker, a Schomburg fellow at the College, stages The Oral Tradition of the Oral Tradition, a one-woman show inspired by the African-American story, " The People Who Could Fly."
- The College debuts its bike patrol, security officers who average ten miles a day on mountain bikes. The initiative, launched by the New Jersey Higher Education Partnership for Sustainability, saves gas consumption and reduces vehicle emissions.
- The Patron of the Arts event treats patrons to a brunch and performance of The Nutcracker at the Berrie Center.
- The Gospel Chorus Club presents a concert of their own sounds as well as visiting voices from the Victory Temple and Holy Tabernacle churches in Paterson, soloist Cora Quince, the Redman Singers, plus a praise dance by Tara Parker.
- Douglas Kelley, Ramapo's distinguished visiting artist, and Robert Modafferi, a senior, bury the 2/99 (Two for Ninety-Nine) Time Capsule, filled with items from the 20th century representing current technology, thought, philosophy, and daily life. The capsule will be opened in the year 3001.
January 2000
- The Spring Convocation features author Dr. Beverly Guy-Sheftall, who speaks on "The Meaning of Diversity and How Colleges Can Be More Imaginative in Defining It and Fulfilling Goals for It."
- A Ramapo Alumni Basketball Reunion game draws fans and over twenty players who return for the event.
February 2000
- "Mississippi" Charles Bevel, writer and co-star of the Broadway hit It Ain' t Nothing But the Blues, visits the campus for a soulful evening of music.
- The annual Scholarship Reception honors some of Ramapo's most hard working and talented students who can realize their dreams of a college education thanks to the scholarships awarded.
- A Campus of Difference, hosted by the Educational Opportunity Fund program, invites the Anti-Defamation League to campus for workshops on stereotypes.
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March 2000
- With over $21.7 million received in gifts and pledges, the Ramapo College Foundation Capital Campaign exceeds its $20 million goal.
- The Ramapo College Foundation Distinguished Citizens Dinner pays tribute to Michael W. Azzara, president and CEO of Valley Health System, Inc.; Elizabeth G. Christopherson, executive director and CEO of New Jersey Network; John Durkin, vice president of Garban LLC Government Bond Brokerage; and Douglas L. Kennedy, senior vice president of Summit BankCorp.
- The Avon Products Foundation, Inc. awards a $1,500 grant to the Ramapo College Foundation in the form of scholarships to support childcare for children of student mothers finishing their degrees.
- Akafist, the critically acclaimed Russian male chamber choir, presents a unique choral performance combining Russian folk songs with Orthodox church music.
- The Eleanor B. Reiner Foundation awards $500,000 to the Ramapo College Foundation. The grant creates the Eleanor B. Reiner Foundation Endowed Fund, with investment proceeds from the fund going toward scholarships for learning disabled students.
- Fordham University at Lincoln Center opens a fifty-year anniversary exhibition entitled, This Life, a representation of Ramapo Art Professor Judith Peck's lifetime work in sculpture.
- The OXFAM American Fasting event comes to campus with students, faculty, and staff sacrificing one meal and donating the cost to erase world hunger.
April 2000
- The College hosts Dr. Remi Hoeckman of Vatican City, the executive secretary of the Holy See's Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews and a senior staff member of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
- The Human Rights Conference sponsored by the Educational Opportunity Fund program focuses on human rights issues for women, minorities, and children.
May 2000
- The National Science Foundation awards a three-year $1.3 million environmental science grant to the College.
- Over one hundred companies, state, federal, and private agencies, as well as non-profits attend the Ramapo College of New Jersey Job Fair sponsored by the Governor William T. Cahill Center.
- The first issue of Ramapo Magazine is published, highlighting outstanding programs, students, and events at the College, plus news from the Ramapo Alumni Association and the Ramapo College Foundation.
- A musical performed by the Abuabua Band and Musical Team " Love," a group of autistic and Down's syndrome young people from Japan, plays to a standing room only crowd at the Berrie Center. This emotionally moving concert is sponsored by Sanyo Semiconductor Corporation.
- Seventeen students are inducted into a newly organized chapter of Chi Alpha Epsilon, a national honor society for students who utilize developmental education support services.
- The College announces a total immersion program in French, Italian, and Spanish to be held in the summer over a three-day weekend, during which enrolled students live on campus and sign an agreement to speak only the target language.
- The Russ Berrie Award for Making a Difference is administered by the College. In an awards ceremony on campus, nineteen New Jersey heroes are awarded "uncommon recognition for uncommon acts for the common good."
- RamaMars Exhibit Day, hosted by the Master of Science in Educational Technology program, comes to campus, attracting K-12 students plus their teachers and parents for a day of science exploration.
- The Annual Sports Banquet honors the outstanding 131-109-4 overall record of the College's sixteen teams as well as the athletes of the year, top student athlete, rookies, and Coach of the Year, Eugene Marshall, Jr. The Roadrunners ended the season 24 games above .500.
- The Alumni Association hosts Champagne at Sunset, a reception the day before Commencement 2000 held for graduating seniors, their friends, and family. Over 200 people attend this first-time event.
- During the Forty-Second Commencement exercises, 835 undergraduates and forty graduate students are awarded diplomas. Since the College's opening in 1971, more than 16,000 baccalaureate degrees have been awarded.
June 2000
- Duke Habernickel, president and chief executive officer of Haband Company, Inc., pledges $420,000 to start the Haband Oaks Scholarship Program for Ramapo College upperclassmen demonstrating financial need. The program is believed to be the largest corporate scholarship endowment at any state college or teaching university in New Jersey.
- A donor appreciation event features An Evening with Jeffrey Siegel. Hosted by Angelica and Russ Berrie, the evening also pays tribute and bids farewell to Dr. Robert A. Scott, Ramapo's president for more than half of its twenty-nine year history, who will head Adelphi University as of July 2000.
- Dr. Alice Chandler, who served for sixteen years as president of the State University of New York at New Paltz, is appointed interim president of Ramapo College of New Jersey.
July 2000
- The Ramapo College Foundation is presented a 2000 CASE Circle of Excellence Award for Educational Fund-Raising. Ramapo was the only public liberal arts college in the nation to be recognized and the only New Jersey institution of higher learning to receive an educational fund-raising award.
- The Thirteenth Annual Ramapo College Golf and Tennis Classic, held at the Hackensack Golf Club in Oradell, raises $73,000 to support student scholarships, faculty development, and college-wide projects.
- A Parents Advisory Council is created, giving parents of students a voice at Ramapo College. The council will also spearhead a campaign to raise money for new library acquisitions.
- The New Alumni Summer Reunion, held in Belmar, attracts a 12 percent increase in attendees to this relatively new event.
- The Minolta Summer Concert Series in the band shell at the College lights the sky with fireworks and brings great family entertainment to an outdoor venue. Over 5,000 attend.
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