Mercer County Community College (MCCC) is an accredited, co-educational, two-year, public, community college located in Mercer County, New Jersey. The school's current president is Dr. Jianping Wang as of July 1, 2015. More than 13,000 students enroll in one or more credit courses each year.
Established in 1966, MCCC is a publicly supported comprehensive educational institution that provides opportunities for higher education through an open-door admission policy. The 292-acre (1.18Â km2) West Windsor Campus was opened in 1971 to serve the needs of Mercer County residents. The main buildings on campus feature brutalist architecture, once popular in 1960's college campus construction. The newly expanded James Kerney Campus, located in downtown Trenton, serves as an educational and cultural hub for city residents.
Dual admission
Students can also enroll in a dual admissions program, which guarantees transfer into the junior year at six New Jersey colleges: Rutgers University, Rider University, The College of New Jersey, Montclair State University, the New Jersey Institute of Technology and Thomas Edison State College. They also recently added the program for the Virginia school James Madison University. Mercer County Community College is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. In addition to the colleges noted above MCCC students have continued their educations at University of Rochester, Stanford University, Strayer University, University of Phoenix, Harvard University, The New School, Kean University, Rider University, Temple University, New York University, Cornell University, Columbia University, and many more.
Accreditation
The college is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and is authorized by the State of New Jersey's Commission on Higher Education to award associate degrees. Many of the college's academic programs are also accredited by national professional associations and their boards of certification.
The college's Nursing program is accredited by the New Jersey Board of Nursing and the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing. The Radiography program is accredited by the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology and approved by the New Jersey Radiologic Technology Board of Examiners. The Medical Laboratory Technology program is accredited by the National Credentialing Agency for Laboratory Personnel. The Physical Therapist Assistant program is fully accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education of the American Physical Therapy Association.
The Legal Assistant program is approved by the American Bar Association. The Funeral Service program is accredited by the American Board of Funeral Service Education. Aviation Flight Technology is accredited by the Council on Aviation Accreditation.
Mercer has a program for students with special needs, called the DREAM (Developing Real Expectations for Achieving Mastery)Â program, run by the offices of Special Services located on the West Windsor Campus. The program has students who are in the college work as mentors to the students who need help for the semester.
Performing arts
In 2006, the Academic Theatre and Dance programs at the college assumed new direction under Program Coordinator Jody P. Person. In partnership with the Entertainment Technology program, the Theatre and Dance programs set out to offer students two-year training in the performing arts after the model of a four-year conservatory.
In September 2008, the programs adopted a new logo and moniker, "MCCC On Stage," to represent the combined output of the Theatre, Dance, and Entertainment Technology Programs. According to the most recent program description to appear in a Theatre Program production playbill:
The Theatre and Entertainment Technology programs at MCCC combine intensive classroom study and hands-on experience to challenge the serious student who aspires to a career in the entertainment industry or wishes to pursue training at a four-year conservatory or liberal arts program. The Theatre program is dedicated to developing the total actor who can cope with the demands of the contemporary stage and work with a range of dramatic materials â€" from classical to modern, musicals to the avant-garde â€" that reflect current productions in the theatre centers of this country today.
Theatre, Dance, and Entertainment Technology programs faculty include Person (Theatre, Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts, MFA), Janell Byrne (Dance, Juilliard), Robert Terrano (Entertainment Technology), M. Kitty Getlick (Kelsey Theatre), Kate Pinner (Stagecraft, Yale School of Drama), Alex DeFazio (Theatre, Columbia University, MFA), and Louis Wells (Theatre, Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts, MFA).
The Theatre program is also home to the college's Drama Club, which produces Late Night Series, a twice-monthly open-mic night on campus.
Athletics
MCCC is a member of the Garden State Athletic Conference and the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). Its teams are known as the Mercer Vikings. It fields teams in baseball, men's and women's basketball, women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, softball, and men's and women's tennis.
Clubs and Government
MCCC is home to a wide variety of clubs and student activities boards.
- Christian Fellowship
- Drama Club
- Future Teachers Club
- Go Green Club
- International Student Organization
- L.G.B.T.F Club - Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Friends
- Muslim Student Association (MSA)
- Phi Beta Lambda
- Phi Theta Kappa
- Philosophy Club
- Programs for Academic Services and Success Club
- Student Government Association
- The College VOICE - student newspaper
- Viking 89 Radio Station
Notable alumni
- Jim Adams
- Bill Andracki
- Antron Brown, drag racer
- Dave Gallagher, former Major League Baseball player
- Stern John
- Daouda Kanté
- Darin Lewis
- Evans Wise
- Ken Wolski
- Sascha Haecker
News articles
- EDITORIAL: The First Amendment is under attack at Mercer
- Janssen Pharma supports MCCC's Trenton Campus (Mercerspace)
- Rugers-Camden expands nursing program in Mercer County (Philadelphia Inquirer)
- MCCC, Rutgers-Camden sign nursing agreement to save students $20k (Times of Trenton)
- Thomas Edison, MCCC partner to offer 4-year nursing degree (Times of Trenton)
- Rider University to Allow Mercer County Community College Students to Live on Campus (Planet Princeton)
- Mercer County Community College fired employees illegally MCCC's President and Board did not follow state law and breached employees' contracts during an IT layoff that outsourced some services to a for-profit corporation. The newspaper cites the arbitrator as noting that neither President Jianping Wang nor MCCC board Vice-Chair Kevin Drennan, who is also the executive director of the New Senate Majority Office, testified at the arbitration hearing.
- Convicted child molester lured kids at MCCC to shower naked with him: COPS
- MCCC's nursing students frustrated over numerous issues with program
- Mercer County Community College in Danger of Losing Accreditation
- MCCC President Admits Union Boss Worked at Her Home
- Campus vets question source of "Military Friendly" ranking
See also
- New Jersey County Colleges
- WWFM (classical music radio station owned by MCCC)
References
External links
- Official web site
- MCCC Theatre Students Challenged to Create Performance "Anywhere"