2004
2004: The Overlook, a dramatically designed nine-story residence hall, opens.
July 1, 2005: Peter Philip Mercer, formerly the vice president and general counsel at the University of Western Ontario, is appointed as Ramapo’s fourth president.
2005
2005
2005: The Bill Bradley Sports and Recreation Center, named for the former U.S. Senator and National Basketball Association Hall of Famer, opens.
2006: Laurel Hall, a nine-story residence hall, opens.
trees throughout campus and for grassy berms to be built along Route 202, near the south entrance, to obstruct the view of large parking lots from passing drivers. “They wanted to see as much green as possible, and we’ve tried to respect that vision,” Roberts says. “We tried to make the buildings fit the landscape, as opposed to the other way around.” 2
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2008
As for the two buildings that came with the landscape, both were put to good use. The McBride House had been built in 1890 as a guesthouse on the estate of Theodore Havemeyer, a founder of the American Sugar Refining Company, who sold most of his 1,000-acre property to Stephen Birch in 1917. Today it’s the home of Ramapo’s Office of Admissions. In 1993 the College named the property in honor of the
2008: The Anisfield School of Business opens. The building was named for former Board of Trustee member and long-time College supporters and benefactors, Millicent and Richard Anisfield.
J. Nevins McBride's family of Frankln Lakes, which had provided a gift to renovate the house. Birch Mansion, which Havemeyer had built in 1899 as a wedding gift for his daughter Lillie, was remodeled and turned into office space for the college president, provost, and other administrators. More recently, in 2001, the college purchased Havemeyer’s three-story, 9,900square-foot Italianate home, built in 1849. Today it’s the official residence of the Ramapo College president.
2010
Spring 2010: The Sharp Sustainability Education Center, built with state-of-the-art green technology such as a geothermal heating and cooling system, opens.
The growth of the campus continues. On an easel inside his office at Birch Mansion, Roberts keeps a site plan for yet another project. For Roberts, who celebrates his own 40th anniversary at Ramapo next year, all the construction has kept him busy, and rooted. “That’s why I’ve been here so long,” he says. “Every day is different. If it was boring, I wouldn’t have stayed.”
Photo courtesy of Molly Stern '10
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1. Trustees Pavilion 2. The Reverend Dr. Vernon C. Walton, Lisa Jackson, then New Jersey Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, currently the Environmental Protection Agency Administrator and Peter P. Mercer at the Ground breaking for The Sharp Sustainability Center in September 2007 3. The Bill Bradley Sports and Recreation Center Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony in April 2005 4. The Berrie Center 5. The Angelica and Russ Berrie Center for Performing and Visual Arts Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony in 1999 6. Maple Hall (now Nancy Mackin Hall) 7. George Potter with model for College 8. The Salameno Spiritual Center nearing completion in 2009 9. Oak Hall (now Pamela M. Bischoff Hall) 10. Laurel Hall 2006 5
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Ramapo magazine
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www.ramapo.edu
Ramapo magazine
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