Atlantic Cape - Did You Know?: Mays Landing Campus

On April 16, 2023 Connecticut divers discovered the wreckage of the experimental submarine, Simon Lake XV, built in 1907, in the hopes of winning a competition for a U.S. Navy contract, according to NavSource. The boat didn't win so he then tried renovating it for minesweeping, salvage and rescue tasks, renaming it the Defender. No one ever bought the vessel but it was still popular among some and was even visited by Amelia Earhart in 1929, said Richard Simon, the diver whose crew found the vessel. The submarine was equipped with wheels to move along the ocean floor and a door that gave divers the option to exit the vessel underwater, Simon told the Associated Press. Eventually, it sat docked in New London before it was abandoned and later scuttled in Long Island Sound by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1946, NavSource Naval History reported.

From Connecticut Public Radio  by Pat Eaton-Robb/Associated Press April 19, 2023

The Mays Landing campus is located at 5100 Black Horse Pike, Mays Landing on 541 acres. There are16 academic buildings with classrooms, computer labs, science labs, and faculty and administrative offices. There are buildings for the gymnasium (E Building), library (D Building), student center (G Building), college administration (J Building) and Rutgers University at Atlantic Cape (Q Building).

Many of the buildings on campus have been named for historical leaders and educators from South Jersey.

The building and road names were selected by the Atlantic County Historical Society and approved by the Atlantic Community College Board of Trustees on April 26, 1966. The campus roads were given names from the Lenape. Unalachtigo Road, the left fork at building U (Security) is named for the South Jersey subdivision of the Lenni Lenape of New Jersey. The other road to the Black Horse Pike, Atsiunk Road is derived from Atsion (Indians Nearby) the unincorporated village in Wharton State Park, where the Samuel Richards mansion is located. The section of road from Building L (Maintenance) to Parking Lot 2 was named Tuckahoe Road, for Wild Tuckahoe which grows from the roots of certain trees and used as flour by the Lanape in Upper Township, Cape May to make cornbread. The main road through campus from Tuckahoe Road to the Black Horse Pike is Absegami Road, named for the Atlantic County subdivision of the Lenni Lenape. From the Atlantic County Historical Society and the Westfield, New Jersey High School history of New Jersey site http://westfieldnj.com/whs/history/Counties/AtlanticCounty/absecon.htm, and from the Atlantic Community College Board of Trustees minutes of  the meeting on April 26, 1966.

Frankie Williams Way was named for State Police Trooper Frankie Williams who died responding to a call about an erratic driver on Route 55 in Millville on December 5, 2016. Williams had enlisted in the New Jersey State Police just 10 months before the accident and served with the Woodstown and Port Norris Stations, while living in Egg Harbor Township.

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William J. Spangler Campus Beautification Fund

William J. Spangler, library director from 1966 to 1984, established an endowment for the college to be used to beautify the campuses. The proceeds from the fund are used annually to purchase flowering plants, trees, and other plantings. In addition, funds are used to enhance public areas with artwork, sculptures, and walkways. Projects to beautify the campus have included new plantings outside of Daniel Leeds and Richard Somers Halls, patios and tables at the entrances to Building D, the Cat sculpture in the library, art gallery pedestals, the Japanese garden by the Academy of Culinary Arts, Building M, butterfly bushes in the courtyard outside of Building H, the Ruth Lee Health Building, and trees in front of Parking Lot 4.

 

Plaque recognizing the contributions of William Spangler, dedicated April 26, 2022. 

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The lava stone Holocaust Memorial located in front of J Building along with six trees are dedicated to the memory of those who perished in the Holocaust.

By the Association of Jewish Students April 28, 2003

The inscription reads "My eyes flow with tears" Lamentations 1:16

A Building (Simon Lake Hall) : Classrooms and faculty offices

• Simon Lake was born in Pleasantville, N.J., September 4, 1866, and attended Toms River High School Class of 1882. He was a naval architect and mechanical engineer and was the inventor of the even keel submarine torpedo boat. The Argonaut, built in 1897, was the first submarine to operate successfully in the open sea. Simon Lake also invented submarine apparatus for locating and recovering sunken vessels and their cargo, apparatus for pearl and sponge fishing, and a heavy oil internal combustion engine for marine purposes. He was president of the Lake Submarine Co., The Lake Engineering Co., Lake Submarine Salvage Corp. and several other related companies. Building A was originally designated as the Science and Technology Building by the Board of Trustees in 1966.
  Toms River Regional Schools Hall of Fame induction 1989, https://www.trschools.com/trhof/inductee.asp?ID=1, and the Atlantic Community College Board of Trustees meeting minutes April 1966 

A1 Thomas E. Brown Greenhouses

• Dr. Thomas Edward Brown of Absecon was Department and Division Chairperson of the Science Department in 1969 and obtained a grant to build the greenhouses on campus. He retired in 1990 with status of Professor Emeritus. Tom continued to teach part time at Atlantic Cape and Stockton University until December 2000 when he retired from teaching. During his tenure at Atlantic Cape and after retirement Tom gave plant talks to Garden Clubs and Associations. Tom & his wife Anita were founding members of the South Jersey Garden Railway Society in 1994, where he was president for two terms. He spent six years building model train layouts and running trains at the Shore Mall.  

B1 Building (Silas Morse Hall): Faculty Offices

• Silas Morse was the 6th head teacher of the first public school in Atlantic City (1863-1872). He was the first Superintendent of Schools of Atlantic City and in 1877 became the County Superintendent of Schools and member of the State Board of Education. From South Jersey:A History 1664-1924 volume 2, edited by Alfred Heston

B2 Building (Charles B. Boyer Hall): Innovation Center - eSports Lounge
Esports Subject Guide
Cybersecurity Subject Guide

• Charles Boyer was principal of Atlantic City High School in 1890 and became the superintendent of schools in 1893. Under his leadership, many special classes were started that would open doors of opportunity to children who were likely to be deprived the privilege of advanced study. From South Jersey:A History 1664-1924 volume 2, edited by Alfred Heston

B3 Building (Samuel Richards Hall): Classrooms

• Samuel Richards was a South Jersey landowner and was instrumental in establishing the Camden and Atlantic Railroad in 1854. He is credited with selecting the name "Atlantic City" in 1852. In 1874, another railroad to Atlantic City, the Philadelphia and Atlantic Railroad was built. In 1888, he undertook as president of the Camden and Atlantic Land Company to extend Atlantic City to the south with the addition of “Ventnor,” named for a seaside resort established in the Victorian era on the Isle of Wight, in England. From A Sketch of the Founder of Atlantic City and his Forefathers, NJPineBarrons August 22, 2008.

C Building (Walter Edge Hall) : Cafeteria, dance studio, and the Walter Edge Theater

• Walter Edge (1873 -1956) was an American diplomat and politician. He was twice the Governor of New Jersey, from 1917 to 1919 and again from 1944 to 1947.  Edge also served as United States Senator representing New Jersey from 1919 to 1929 and as United States Ambassador to France from 1929 to 1933. Originally designated as the Student Center by the Board of Trustees in 1966. From the guide to Walter E. Edge Papers 1782-1968, 1905-1956, Princeton University Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, and the Atlantic Community College Board of Trustees meeting minutes April 1966

D1 Building (Daniel Leeds Hall) : William J. Spangler Library including tutoring rooms, study rooms, computer labs, and the Atlantic Cape Art Gallery

• Daniel Leeds made extensive surveys of Egg Harbor in 1698, founding Leeds Point. A devout Quaker, he began publishing The American Almanack in 1687, which contained astrological data. He was accused by the Quakers of using inappropriate language as well as symbols considered to be too pagan. In 1688, he published a book called The Temple of Wisdom, which touched on subjects including angels, astrology, and devils.  
• According to popular folklore, the Jersey Devil originated with a Pine Barrens resident named Jane Leeds, known as "Mother Leeds". The legend states that Mother Leeds cursed the birth of her 13th child, crying that the child would be the devil. In 1735, the 13th child was born as a normal child, and changed to a creature with hooves, a goat's head, bat wings, and a forked tail. Growling and screaming, it beat everyone with its tail before flying up the chimney heading into the pine barrens. From History of Atlantic County,  https://www.atlantic-county.org/history/
• The library was named in honor William J. Spangler on April 28, 1992. He was the library director from 1966 to 1984 and made considerable contributions to the library collection, including donations of many books in the NJ collection. Through his generosity, he created an endowment to the college for beautification projects. 

D2 (Richard Somers Hall) : Administration offices

• Richard Somers (1778-1804), born and raised in Somers Point, NJ. He was a captain in the U.S. Navy. On September 4, 1804, Somers was fighting against the Barbary Pirates in the Mediterranean. He assumed command of the Intrepid, which had been fitted out as a "floating volcano," alongside 12 members of a volunteer crew. Intrepid was to be sailed into Tripoli harbor and blown up in the midst of the enemy fleet. That night, she got underway into the harbor, exploded prematurely, killing Somers and his entire crew. Building D2 was originally designated as the Administrative Building by the Board of Trustees in 1966. From Somers Point Honors Local Historic Hero Richard Somers on Annual Richard Somers Day, September 8, 2019 (https://visitsomerspoint.com/news/somers-point-hosts-annual-richard-somers-day-sunday-september-8/) and the Atlantic Community College Board of Trustees meeting minutes April 1966.

E Building (Jonathan Pitney Hall) : Gymnasium

• Jonathan Pitney (1797 - 1869) considered the Father of Atlantic City, was a physician who promoted Absecon as a healing seashore resort. Pitney served as Absecon's postmaster and recorder of shipwrecks. He played a large role in the creation of Atlantic County from Gloucester County, which previously had extended down to the seashore. Pitney was Atlantic County's delegate to the State Constitutional Convention in 1844, and also ran for Congress in 1848. His familiarity with area shipwrecks also led him to succeed in garnering a Congressional grant of $35,000 for the construction of the Absecon Lighthouse in Atlantic City in 1857. From Jonathan Pitney, MD:50 Years of Progress pm tje Coast of New Jersey, edited by Heston 

F Building (Central Power Plant)

G Building (Student Center) : Classrooms, student services, student lounge, game room, and radio station

• Atlantic Cape broke ground for the Student Center in September 2016. In addition to common space, including a game room, the student center also includes dedicated space for the Student Government Association, the student publications Atlantic Cape Review and Rewrites, a literary magazine, and the radio station WRML 107.9 FM. The ribbon cutting took place on February 28, 2018. 
• The G building's Wally Kaenzig Veteran Open Lounge, named for the Iwo Jima veteran and former Dean of Students at Atlantic Cape (1973-1982) and the Dave Evans Veteran Center, named for a former Atlantic Cape trustee, Galloway educator and Vietnam veteran, with a lounge, computers, career assistance and telehealth services are located on the second floor. 

H Building (Ruth Lee Allied Health Building) : Classrooms, labs

• The Nursing Program at Atlantic Cape was developed in 1967 by Professor Ruth M. Lee. Sixteen students graduated in the first class of 1969. At that time, the program was housed in various facilities throughout Atlantic County. Ten years later, the Ruth Lee Allied Health Building on the Mays Landing Campus opened. Nursing Program graduates work in health care facilities throughout Atlantic and Cape May counties and in other parts of the state and beyond. Many have advanced degrees and provide leadership in all areas of health care. From Atlantic Cape Community 'College Alumni Newsletter Fall 2019

I Building (Roads and Grounds)

J Building (Administration)

• J Building is the College's administration building and includes the Office of the President, admissions, financial aid, the college bookstore, and other student services

K Building 

• K building houses the offices of Academic Affairs and Information Technology Services

L Building 

• L building is used by the Facilities Management Department

M Building : Academy of Culinary Arts

• M Building opened in 1991 and is home to the Academy of Culinary Arts, which was established in 1981. Students can earn degrees in Culinary Arts, Baking & Pastry, and Food Service Management, and certificates in Baking & Pastry and Culinary Arts. The degree programs mix hands-on training in the fully equipped kitchens and academic classes. Through an externship, students gain real-world experience in the industry.
  • As part of the training, students help operate Careme's, a gourmet restaurant open to the public. The restaurant is named after the first "celebrity chef" in culinary history,  Marie-Antoine Careme (1784 - 1833), a French chef of the elaborate style of cooking known as grande cuisine, the "high art" of French cooking. Careme's command of culinary art was so famous in the early 19th century that he became known as "the chef of kings and the king of chefs." From Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets edited by D. Goldstein, Oxford University Press 2015
  • Strudels Bakeshop is operated by the students of the Academy and is located adjacent to the restaurant. Strudels is open when classes are in session for the sale of breads, pies, and pastries as available.

Q Building (Rutgers University)

• Q building opened in 2012, houses Rutgers University which had been using a trailer since 2006.The two story building has classrooms, a student lounge and a computer lab. Students can complete their associate’s degree at Atlantic Cape and then go on to obtain their bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University. Students attending classes here have the same Rutgers courses, faculty and diploma as those students who attend classes on Rutgers main campuses, and are encouraged to participate in the university commencement ceremonies. Rutgers University is named after Henry Rutgers (1745-1830) who was a Revolutionary War hero and philanthropist.

R Building

• R building is College's materials receiving department

S Building (S.T.E.M.) : Classrooms, science labs, air traffic control simulation lab

• The Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) building opened in 2015. The 32,475-square-foot building was designed by the Philadelphia firm Stantec Architects and is eligible for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver certification for its environmentally "green" design. The building contains labs for chemistry, biology and earth science and the air traffic control simulation lab. The building also includes unique dry-erase walls, an observatory area and a partially vegetative roof.

T Building

• T building houses the New Jersey Police Training Academy

U Building (Security and Public Safety)

• Campus Security and Public Safety are located in U Building