On Mon., Aug. 15, 2016, members of the Union County Improvement Authority, joined members of the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders, Senator Raymond J. Lesniak, Union County College Trustees and Governors, and President Margaret M. McMenamin for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the new Student Development Building at the College’s Cranford campus. The new, two-story, 30,000-square foot facility, is an extensive renovation of the historic Nomahegan Building and is the new hub of the campus.

Union County College President Margaret M. McMenamin (center) prepares to cut the ribbon with Union County College Board of Trustees Chair Vic Richel (left) and Union County Board of Chosen Freeholder Chairman Bruce Bergen (right).

Chairman of Union County College’s Board of Trustees, Vic Richel, welcomed all to campus. Senator Raymond J. Lesniak addressed the crowd and spoke of the positive impact the College has had for Union County residents. Union County Improvement Authority Executive Director Dan Sullivan, as well as UCIA Chairman Anthony Scutari thanked all who worked to make the new building a reality. Freeholder Chairman Bruce Bergen spoke of Dr. McMenamin’s drive to make the College an outstanding eduational institution.

The $14 million project was funded by the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders through the Union County Improvement Authority. The new Helen E. Chaney Student Services Center is housed on the first floor. Helen Chaney, a 1948 alumnus of the College, pledged a generous $500,000 gift for student scholarships, which is one of the largest gifts the College has ever received.

Mrs. Chaney is grateful to the College for providing a positive start to her education at a time when education opportunities for women were limited. “The College gave me my start, so I see this gift as my way of helping students financially so that they can afford not only to attend college but also succeed in getting a college degree,” said Mrs. Chaney. The College has expressed its gratitude by naming the Student Services Center in her honor. The Chaney Center includes Admissions; Registration; Payment Services; Financial Aid; Disability Services; Educational Opportunity Fund Services; Advising, Career and Transfer Services and Testing. The second floor houses classrooms as well as faculty and departmental offices.

For more stories about Union, scroll down:

The Bus To Washington
UCC To Offer “Girls Gone Wired: Game Day” At Rahway Location
Union County College Cuts The Ribbon In Plainfield For New Annex Building
Governor Christie Visits Union County College

The Bus To Washington

In late March, an idea floated around Union County College’s Student Success Division to charter a bus to Washington, DC, for about 40 African-American male students in one of the cohorts of the “Project Achievement” program. Activities like group trips are one of the hallmarks for the program, which focuses on improving graduation rates for African-American men. Much to the astonishment of the staff, most of these students had never visited the nation’s capital. Word quickly spread about the trip, and another 60 male and female students came forward asking to be included. Like the initial 40, most of the others had never been to DC.

The two buses left Union’s Cranford Campus on the morning of March 23 and returned later that evening. Along the way, the Washington tour included stops at Howard University, the Smithsonian Institute’s Air and Space Museum, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Washington Monument. Students also visited the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial and walked the National Mall. The hundred students continued to rave about the whirlwind Washington visit during the days and weeks that followed.

One of the student attendees, Gray Stackhouse, put the trip in perspective by saying, “It was just one day, but it said everything about the kind of College this is. You’re treated like a person, not just a number.” During the May 25 Commencement, Gray was the first in the Stackhouse family to earn a college degree.

Project Achievement receives some of its financial support from the Union County College Foundation’s “Close the Gap” fund. Spearheaded by a volunteer committee of prominent African-American community members, the fund fuels initiatives like the Washington trip as well as internships, summer jobs, career counseling, and other support services to help African-American men to succeed in college and life.

UCC To Offer “Girls Gone Wired: Game Day” At Rahway Location

Union County College is offering a free demonstration class, called “Girls Gone Wired: Game Day,” on a high-demand, high-paying skill: How to design a computer app.

The College will offer the free class at its Rahway facility, which is located at 1591 Irving Street, next to the Union County Performing Arts Center. The class will be held on Saturday, Sept., 17, 2016, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. All are welcome.

Participants will learn how to build simple functional apps and mobile games for Android including Magic 8 Ball, PicCall, BackTalk, Mole Mash, Get the Gold, and Mini Golf. No programming experience or Android device required. The course will be led by Beth Ritter-Guth, Union’s Director of Instructional Design at the College.

“The Freeholder Board, through our Office on Women, is proud to partner with the College to offer a program that offers a cutting-edge skill to participants,” said Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen. “The development of computer apps over the past decade has completely revolutionized mobile communications, and will continue to play a key role in how we access information and communicate with each other.”

Besides giving the instruction on how to design an App for a computer or mobile phone, the College also seeks to raise awareness among women in the field of coding and app design. The class is called “Girls Gone Wired” to prove that women can code too and be successful professionals.

This program was made possible with the support from the Union County Office on Women, Department of Human Services. The course is free, but registration is required because there are a limited number of spots available. Please RSVP to beth.ritter-guth@ucc.edu.

President McMenamin and Freeholder Chairman Bergen cut the ribbon.

Union County College Cuts The Ribbon In Plainfield For New Annex Building

It was a memorable day at Union County College’s Plainfield Campus when President Margaret M. McMenamin, with Assemblyman Jerry Green and Union County Freeholder Chairman Bruce Bergen, cut the ribbon to celebrate the re-opening of the Annex Building. The new building is home to an Information Commons, library, cafeteria, and book store on the first floor. Faculty offices are located on the second floor.

Also in attendance for the celebration were Plainfield Mayor Adrian Mapp, Union County Freeholders Linda Carter and Bette Jane Kowalski, Union County Improvement Authority Deputy Director Linda Stender, Union County College Board of Trustees Chair Victor Richel, other members of the College’s boards, students, and members of the College’s faculty and staff.

President McMenamin expressed thanks to Assemblyman Green for partnering with the College to, “…ensure that every resident has access to high quality education.” She also thanked the Union County Improvement Authority for their assistance with the completion of the building.

Governor Christie and President Margaret McMenamin touring the Cranford Campus prior to the Governor’s press conference in a packed student center.

Governor Christie Visits Union County College

Governor Chris Christie held a press conference at Union County College’s Cranford Campus on Apr. 14 to announce new State-wide programs to boost education in the Manufacturing, Healthcare, and Transportation-Logistics-Distribution industries.

The Governor chose Union for the announcement because the College recently received a $900,000 Department of Labor-Workforce Development grant to serve as the State-wide lead for TLD training throughout New Jersey. Dubbed a Talent Distribution Center, Union will develop and deliver training to dislocated workers and currently employed/incumbent workers and then partner with employers for jobs. A number of other educational institutions will support Union’s lead, including Rowan College at Burlington, The College of New Jersey, Middlesex County College, and Camden County College. Says President Margaret M. McMenamin, “The program was built on leveraging Union’s federal grants to support supply-chain education into a State-wide initiative to advance Transportation, Logistics, and Distribution. Although this grant is one-year in duration it is the intent of the State to extend the grant to another year and beyond.”

Rutgers was named the TLD for Healthcare and Camden the TLD for Manufacturing.