October 7, 2026

by Lauren Ferguson

Hundreds of alumni, family, friends, and community members were welcomed onto Ramapo College of New Jersey’s picturesque Mahwah, NJ campus for homecoming weekend, just as autumn was beginning to set in on the 300-acre campus nestled in the foothills of the Ramapo Mountains.

On Friday October 2, the Ramapo community celebrated Founders’ Day with a gathering and cake-cutting marking the 57th anniversary of the founding of Ramapo College.

“Over 57 years ago, the vision of a public liberal arts college for New Jersey existed only as a dream. And over that time that dream has not only come alive but kept growing. And look at us now,” Ramapo College President Cindy Jebb, PhD said before cutting the cake in front of Ramapo’s historic Havemeyer Arch. “Today we stand in one of the most beautiful colleges in America. A college with nationally ranked academic programs and top-notch facilities.”

Founders’ Day was followed by a spooky Festival of Frights celebration for students on Friday evening. Then on Saturday, a special Family & Alumni Day took place, featuring events such as the Oktoberfest carnival where attendees decorated nearly 600 pumpkins, an exciting men’s soccer game, and pop-up gatherings geared toward Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) and first-generation students and alumni, Roadrunner athletes and alumni, and those who have been involved with Greek life on campus.

“Seeing alumni, families, students, and loved ones gather in one place is a powerful reminder that Ramapo is so much more than just a college. It’s a home where every single person belongs, matters, and is supported through everything,” said Ramapo Student Government Association President Benjamin Hartmann ’27.

Hartmann, a law and society major from Piscataway in Middlesex County, NJ, said he spent the weekend “listening to students’ stories, reconnecting with alumni, and meeting so many more incredible students enjoying time with their loved ones.”

For the fourth year in a row, fellow senior Elisabeth Christman ’27, a marketing major from Nutley in Essex County, NJ, spent Family & Alumni Day with her mother and grandmother who make their annual drive from Nutley to Mahwah.

“I love the mountains up here, and I pushed for Beth to go to Ramapo, so it was great to see how her first year was going, since she’d only been in college for two months,” her grandmother Pam Reisch recalled from their initial Family & Alumni Day. “It just became tradition from there, and we all look forward to it.”

For Alumna Shanel Lopez ’25 “coming back for homecoming definitely confirmed for me why this place has never left my heart.” The psychology major from Mahwah, NJ said her favorite parts of the weekend were reconnecting with familiar faces.

“I loved the alumni events, including the EOF and First-Generation Alumni Pop-Up event, where some of my friends who are also fellow alumni and I were given the opportunity to decompress, reflect with old advisors, and converse with other alumni on their growth and expansion beyond Ramapo College,” shared Lopez.

After Family & Alumni Day wrapped up, Ramapo welcomed the next generation of potential Roadrunners and their families to campus for the Fall Open House on Sunday.

Eddie Seavers, associate director of Ramapo’s Center for Student Involvement, which helped organize homecoming weekend, said the Roadrunner spirit held strong all weekend long, and the tight-knit, welcoming energy extended through the Open House. “That same energy continued, just with a different group,” he said, explaining the potential students who attended the open house may one day soon be taking part in homecoming as Roadrunners.