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Georgian Court University is a private Mercy university located in Lakewood, New Jersey, near the popular Jersey Shore and between New York City and Philadelphia. In 2004, University status was granted by the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education.
Founded in 1908 by the Sisters of Mercy, the university offers more than 30 majors through two colleges - the Women's College and the University College. Three of the newest major offerings are the Bachelor of Arts in Dance, the Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science, Wellness, and Sports, and the Bachelor of Science in Tourism, Hospitality, and Recreation Management.
The Women's College at the main Lakewood campus offers programs during the day and on-campus residency. It offers a liberal arts education tailored to women's learning styles. The University College encompasses the coeducational, nonresidential undergraduate, graduate, and certificate offerings of GCU. Evening, weekend, and online classes cater to women and men with busy schedules. Programs are offered in the evening at the GCU main campus in Lakewood, and during the day and evening at GCU at Woodbridge, GCU at Cumberland County College, and GCU at the New Jersey Coastal Communiversity in Wall. As of summer 2007, total enrollment is 3,047 (undergraduate: 1,968 and graduate: 1,079). The GCU Lions compete in NCAA Division II and CACC athletics, including basketball, cross country, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, and volleyball.
The university is located on the sprawling former winter estate of millionaire George Jay Gould I, son of railroad tycoon Jay Gould (1836-1892). The estate, which the Goulds named Georgian Court, was built by New York architect, Bruce Price. Price designed three of the gardens that remain on the campus today - the Italian Garden, the Sunken Garden, and the Formal Garden, while Takeo Shiota designed the peaceful Japanese Garden. In addition to the gardens, GCU has maintained much of the original architecture and it is also home to the Sister Mary Grace Burns Arboretum.
On February 4, 1985, Georgian Court was designated a National Historic Landmark. One of the many historic aspects of the campus is that it houses the only real tennis court at an American school. There are approximately forty-five real tennis courts remaining in the world today.
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Jeu de paume, real tennis, shown in a seventeenth century illustration
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[edit] External links
[edit] References
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Conference for Mercy Higher Education |
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