The Event Center at RVCC
The Event Center at RVCC serves as a conduit to bring the academic and corporate communities together.
The Event Center offers more than 5,500 square feet of multi-functional meeting and event space to accommodate your specific meeting, conference, theatrical production, training or other event needs.
- The Grand Conference Rooms provide over 3,600 square feet of flexible event space, with a seating capacity of up to 400 people.
- Breakout rooms can be configured to meet your unique needs. Each room can seat up to 30.
- A PC Lab offers 24 workstations.
Each conference room is equipped with installed audio visual systems, desktops for presentations and wireless touch screen control panels.
For additional information, call (908) 526-1200, extension 8801, or visit us online.
Ray Bateman Center for Student Life and Leadership
The three-story Bateman Center offers 24,000 square feet of flexible learning space including conference rooms, small study areas, and office space for student groups. It provides a central meeting location for all student clubs and organizations. The first floor has offices for Student Life management, five conference rooms for student group meetings, a small kitchen and office space for the Student Government Association and the Phi Theta Kappa honor society. A two-story atrium provides seating areas, as well as a “living wall” of vegetation. The second floor features several different types of areas to support collaborative learning and networking, a reading room, and a variety of seating that promotes student collaboration.
Evelyn S. Field Library
The Evelyn S. Field Library promotes access to high-quality resources, intellectual freedom, academic growth, and open-minded exploration in a welcoming and inclusive environment that is conducive to study.
The Evelyn S. Field Library is located on two floors near the main entrance of the College. The Check Out Desk and the Reference Desk are both on the first floor. The circulating book collection is located on the second floor.
- Group Study Rooms: Group study rooms, which are located on the second floor, may be reserved for groups of two or more students for up to three hours at a time. Groups are also welcome to use the Library Lounge located outside the Library.
- Study Space: The Library has carrel and table seating available for studying on both levels. Silent study is offered on the second floor. The Library staff tries to maintain a quiet environment on the first floor.
- Computers: Computers are available for research, writing papers, printing, College e-mail services and general Internet access.
- Library Instruction: The Library’s instructional program offers a wide variety of classes from the developmental level, through basic instruction, to advanced subject-specific classes. Library faculty conduct classes in our computer classroom.
- Research Assistance: Librarians are available in the Library in person, by phone, email or via chat from the Library website. They can help students find and evaluate resources for their assignments.
- Photocopying and Scanning: Photocopying is available with the use of copy cards purchased in the Library. Scanning is offered free of charge at the Library’s book scanning station and students can save to a flash drive, Google Drive or Office 365, or email documents to themselves.
- Collection: The Library’s collection of books, eBooks, DVDs, videos, audio books, journals and newspapers has been selected in consultation with the faculty to support the curriculum of the College and to provide academic, cultural, and informational enrichment. The Books & Media section on the Library’s website provides access to books, eBooks, videos, and audio books. An extensive collection of databases provides online access to information in journals, magazines, and newspapers.
- Remote Access: The Library’s website serves as the gateway to the digital library. Users may conduct research from home or an office using their RVCC network login to access subscription databases. Users may electronically request inter-library loan for materials that the RVCC Library does not own.
- Hours: The Library is open day and evening hours as posted in the Library and online at https://library.raritanval.edu.
Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies
Since 1981, the Institute for Holocaust & Genocide Studies has offered diverse educational programs for educators, students, and the community. Through our unique programming, the Institute—a collaboration between RVCC and the Jewish Federation of Somerset, Hunterdon & Warren Counties—promotes historical awareness and cultural understanding and addresses the implications of societal norms. The Institute offers educational seminars, workshops, and presentations for students and teachers about the lessons learned from the Holocaust and genocides that continue today. During the pandemic, we have expanded our outreach to the broader community through the presentations of virtual webinars. Additionally, “Learning Through Experience,” the Institute’s cornerstone educational program, began as a one-day program more than 39 years ago and has now grown into a two-day annual event. The program has educated more than 150,000 middle and high school students and educators with a unique series of guest speaker workshops addressing the Holocaust and genocide.
The work of the Institute is also a vital part of the educational experience on campus. The Morris and Dorothy Hirsch Research Library of The Holocaust, Genocide, and Racism is located on the second floor of the College’s Evelyn S Field Library. In addition to housing the traveling exhibits the Institute brings to campus, the Hirsch Research Library offers books, a video collection, reference materials for research and study, and an area for classroom instruction. The research library provides a wealth of new and current information directly connected to the programs and events offered by the Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies. RVCC professors are encouraged to bring their classes to see the exhibits on display, and students frequently study and conduct research using the extensive materials available in this space.
For information regarding programming, resource information, or annual events, contact Michelle Edgar, Program Specialist, (908) 526-1200, extension 8735, or visit our website.
Testing Center
The Testing Center conducts admissions, placement and competency testing for the College, including for ESL, English and mathematics, foreign languages and technological competency. Students taking make-up exams or tests for online courses may be required to use the Testing Center. Tests such as CLEP, DSST, and High School Equivalency are also administered at the College. Photo identification is required prior to testing.
High School Equivalency Testing
The College offers High School Equivalency testing to qualified applicants who wish to gain a high school diploma. The test is given by appointment. Additional information is available online at www.raritanval.edu/hse.
The Tutoring Center
The Tutoring Center, located in The Bateman Center, 3rd Floor, provides academic support services at no additional charge to registered RVCC students. The Tutoring Center offers:
- Appointments and Drop-in Tutoring - Free individual and group tutoring is available in a wide variety of academic disciplines. Tutors are employed by the College and participate in regular training.
- Tutor-assisted Study Groups - On students’ initiative, Tutoring Center staff provides meeting space and tutor assistance to groups of two or more.
- Learning Support Materials - Reference books, current text books, DVDs, computer software, and manipulative learning tools for math and science are available. State-of-the-art assistive technologies are accessible to accommodate special needs students.
- Computers - Internet access and learning support software are available for writing papers, doing research, and completing homework. The Tutoring Center staff is trained to help students with online learning systems and course software.
- Online Tutoring - Tutoring Center writing tutors provide prompt feedback for papers submitted online to asctutor@raritanval.edu. Smarthinking, a web-based tutoring service covering multiple subjects, is accessible 7 days a week.
For more information about the Tutoring Center, call (908) 526-1200, extension 8393 or check online.
Students, adjuncts and other professionals interested in becoming tutors should contact the Tutoring Center.
Optical Clinic
The optical clinic serves the RVCC community by providing high quality prescription eyeglasses and contact lenses at a substantial discount from the retail price. Located on the ground floor of the College Center, the clinic is operated by the Ophthalmic Science program and is staffed by students in the program under the direct supervision of a licensed optician. The optical clinic contains a state-of-the-art laboratory and can fill any prescription for contact lenses, sunglasses or eyeglasses as well as make expert frame adjustments and repairs.
Paul Robeson Institute
The Paul Robeson Institute for Ethics, Leadership, and Social Justice was founded in 1999 to preserve Paul Robeson’s legacy in the area where he came of age as an artist, athlete, orator, and scholar. The Institute envisions a global community of diverse cultures that embodies, through attitudes and behaviors, Paul Robeson’s ideals, beliefs, values, and vision for a world of justice and peace.
The Paul Robeson Institute offers:
- Opportunities for individuals and the community that foster a spirit of inquiry and excellence in academic studies, communication skills, and the arts and sciences.
- Cultural happenings such as exhibits, lectures, concerts, and artistic events.
- Programs that emphasize the core values needed by young adults for leadership roles and civic participation in the 21st Century.
- Annual Paul Robeson Youth Achievement Awards to distinguish and honor middle school and high school students who are following the Robeson role model as leaders and achievers in the following categories: Arts, Scholarship, Athletics, and Community Service.
The Paul Robeson Resource Room, located in the College’s Evelyn S. Field Library, is an information center for Robeson’s national and worldwide activities. Established in 2003, the Resource Room serves as a repository for educational materials, historical records, and memorabilia of Robeson’s Somerville years and the worldwide accomplishments of people of African-American descent.
Physical Education Complex
The physical education complex consists of indoor and outdoor facilities. The indoor facilities are highlighted by a 10,000 square foot gymnasium that seats 540 patron; a natatorium that houses a six-lane, 25-yard heated pool; and a Fitness Center. The 2,800 square foot Fitness Center contains over 30 cardio, strength and conditioning machines including squat racks, dumbbells and functional training stations. The Fitness Center provides a variety of equipment designed for personal wellness and conditioning.
Outdoor facilities include four full-length basketball courts; a soccer field and walking track; a baseball diamond; and a softball field. Athletic facilities are available to members of the student body for recreational activities and their use can be scheduled through the Athletic Department. All students are encouraged to participate in a variety of programs, from intramurals to intercollegiate athletics.
RVCC Athletics compete within the Garden State Athletic Conference and NJCAA Region XIX.
Additional information and photos can be viewed at www.rvccathletics.com or follow #rvccathletics on Twitter.
The Planetarium
The 100-seat RVCC Planetarium utilizes a computerized All Dome High Definition projection system, offering visitors an immersive virtual tour of the Universe. The Planetarium visuals are complemented with a 5.1 surround sound audio system.
The Planetarium also features a gift shop and exhibit area. Exhibits include 1/15th scale models of the Space Shuttle and Hubble Space Telescope; a full-size model of a Mercury space craft; a scale to show your weight on the Moon; various images from the Space Telescope; a Gravity Well; an H-R Diagram; and a series of five displays that describe our place in the Universe. A 142-pound iron meteorite is on loan from the American Museum of Natural History along with several other meteorite samples from around the world. A small observatory using a 16-inch Meade telescope along with a variety of portable telescopes are available to visitors.
Each year the Planetarium provides programs to more than 15,000 school children, as well as 6,000 public attendees. Presentations include such topics as the changing seasonal sky, Moon phases, tours of the solar system, and exploration of our Milky Way Galaxy and the Universe.
Astronomy classes are offered for credit students and meet regularly in the Planetarium. Other College programs that use the facility include Physics and Service Learning. A College Astronomy Club is also available to all RVCC students.
Since 2004 the Planetarium facility has worked in close collaboration with the Science Education Institute under the umbrella of the New Jersey Astronomy Center (NJACE).
Science Education Institute
The Science Education Institute supports New Jersey school districts with the implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). It provides a series of ten one-day workshops during the school year and a week-long summer institute – all at RVCC or delivered online when necessary. In addition, it provides customized long-term teacher professional development training programs in local school districts. These workshops are attended by approximately 1,000 teachers each year in-person or online.
In collaboration with Rider and Princeton University, the Science Education Institute offers an NGSS Teacher Leader Program, currently consisting of over 60 teachers of grades K-12. These teachers co-facilitate the workshops offered by this higher-ed consortium while developing their science content and leadership skills.
The Science Education Institute also provides training and rentals of the Center’s five Starlab Portable Planetariums, which are used by an estimated 75 teachers each year and serve approximately 10,000 students.
Science Laboratories
Laboratories for science courses are located in the state-of-the-art Christine Todd Whitman Science Center. A recent 23,500 square-foot expansion includes four Chemistry labs, a Physics lab, a hybrid Physics classroom that can be used as a lab or a lecture room, and two classrooms. The classrooms are spacious, bright, and each one has over 60 linear feet of writable surface. Coupled with the easily movable tables and chairs, the facility enables faculty to incorporate innovative student-centered teaching methods. Space for instrumentation and student projects and a Materials Testing Lab are also included. As part of the expansion project, Environmental Science and Biology labs were created by remodeling existing lab classrooms.
The Biology laboratories are equipped with microscopes, an autoclave, spectrophotometers, preserved specimens and innovative models. The 240-acre campus is surrounded by mature forest growth, fields and a pond, which provide a natural living laboratory for Botany, Ecology, and Environmental Science courses, and provide research opportunities for the Center for Environmental Studies. An herbarium collection of several hundred specimens for teaching local plant identification and a greenhouse with a periodic collection of tropical and subtropical plants are also maintained. An XRF (x-ray fluorescence) machine is used to test soil in rain gardens for lead, zinc, and copper in the Environmental Science and Sustainability course, and tests water samples for metals in General Biology II. The Water Quality Laboratory contains a flow injection analyzer and other equipment and supplies that allow for the analysis of nutrient and bacteria concentrations in water and soil samples.
In General Biology I students are introduced to some of the bio-techniques used in industry, research, and the medical fields. Students master separating molecular components through Gel-Electrophoresis and precipitate a DNA sample from their own cheek cells. General Biology II has a NanoDropLite instrument which measures the DNA concentration in animal and plant samples.
Microbiology labs incorporate experiments that grow and study microorganisms. These microbes include various types of bacteria that are cultivated and isolated to be identified. Students analyze an array of microbes using staining techniques and other bacteriological testing methods for pathogen detection and to classify unknowns.
The Human Anatomy & Physiology labs are equipped with microscopes, models, histology slides, and anatomical charts that support the study of the various human anatomical & physiological systems. The Anatomy & Physiology labs are structured so that students can carry out experiments and dissections independently, in pairs, or in groups within a safe and productive environment.
The Chemistry labs include state-of-the-art energy-efficient fume hoods and snorkel hoods at the benches that allow students to run experiments with maximum safety. The hoods and benches are equipped with gas, water, vacuum, and compressed air lines, and students use sophisticated digital collection hardware and software in their experiments. Students also use a variety of analytical instruments, such as a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer, an infrared spectrometer, UV-visible and atomic absorption spectrophotometers, and a gas chromatograph.
The Physics labs include larger facilities and lab stations to provide students with hands-on experiments and activities to observe and analyze abstract physical concepts, including equipment used for mechanics, electricity and magnetism, optics, thermodynamics, and engineering experiments. Most Physics experiments are specifically designed to be used with the PASCO 850 Universal Interface Capstone software that provides one of the most powerful data acquisition, display, and analysis systems available for science education.
The Theatre at RVCC
RVCCArts (The Theatre at Raritan Valley Community College), a community-based, non-profit performing arts center, presents a wide range of cultural programming by professional touring companies of regional, national and international stature. Providing affordable entertainment and educational programming to the College and the community, RVCCArts strives to be a meeting place of diverse ideas and art—a cultural center—providing a central location where College and community, teacher and learner can come together and share the transforming experience of live performance. Each season RVCCArts presents world-class performances—encompassing theatre, music, dance, comedy and spectacle—that entertain, educate and engage audiences of all ages.
For additional information, visit www.RVCCArts.org.
Arts and Design Studios
The Arts and Design curricula are supported by the studio and performance spaces located in the Arts Building and the Welpe Theatre. The department maintains spaces for the Associate of Fine Arts Degrees in Visual Art, Graphic and Interactive Design, Interior Architecture and Design, Dance, Theatre, Studio Arts, Game Arts and Music. Studio spaces for the Associate of Arts Theatre Option and the Associate of Science Interior Architecture and Design Degree are also housed in the department.
The Arts Building is currently undergoing renovations and expansion. Studio space will be impacted during the projects.
The studio arts area includes numerous studios: a ceramics studio; a printmaking studio; a drawing studio; a painting studio; a sculpture studio; photography studios; a graphic design studio; a design studio; two interior architecture and design studios; and an art history classroom.
The ceramics studio has a hand-building room; a wheel room with 14 electric wheels and two kick wheels; two glazing areas; and a kiln room with five electric kilns and one 17-cubic foot gas kiln. It will also include an outdoor Raku kiln.
The sculpture studio is used for the three dimensional design classes and sculpture classes. It is equipped with standard wood working equipment: table saw, drill press, saber saws, routers and sanders. In addition, the studio has equipment to do MIG welding, arc welding and cold metal work. Safety facilities for collecting particles and sawdust are part of the safety equipment in the studio. The studio also houses twelve 3D printers which are used in the Mold-making class as well as in the three dimensional design classes. Students also have access to larger 3D printers housed in the Advanced Manufacturing Lab in the Workforce building.
The photography studio has a large black-and-white darkroom area with 13 enlargers; a classroom for lectures and critiques; a film developing room and a room for studio photography with a copy stand, photo backdrop wall and studio lights and an area with a large format copy camera and large format enlarger that can handle formats up to 4’ x 5’.
The printmaking studio has a lithography press and an etching press with a darkroom area for light-sensitive and photo-based printmaking processes.
The painting studio is equipped with 20 steel easels, drawing tables, stretcher storage racks and daylight track lighting. Large windows on the north wall provide excellent light for daytime painting classes.
The painting studio serves acrylic and oil painting classes, as well as watercolor and drawing classes. There is a second large drawing studio also equipped with track lighting, drawing stools, easels and pin-able walls.
A large lecture room fitted with multiple audio-visual display possibilities serves as an art history and art appreciation classroom.
The Interior Architecture and Design program has two studios in the Arts Building with a computer lab that has the latest software used in the industry. The computers are equipped with large monitors for easy viewing of 3D modeling, graphic work and detailed CAD work. The lab houses a large format color printer, large flatbed scanner and a standard flatbed scanner. The Studio lab has large work surfaces for drawing and model making, a material library and a large area for critique and presentation.
The Arts Building also houses two Mac computer studios with 18 Mac stations each that serve all the Graphic and Interactive Design courses, as well as the 2D Design, Color Theory, and various photography, printmaking and 3D Design classes. These computers all have the most current Adobe CC suite in addition to other software packages that augment digital graphic development. It also has three large format inkjet printers and three scanners (including one large format).
Each room is also equipped with a stereo sound system and color corrected projector for the display of student artwork, video and motion graphics. The Graphic and Interactive Design studio (A24) also houses four mobile/foldable physical production tables, as well as four fixed laminated desks suitable for collage, drawing, and the creation of two-dimensional physical materials. Eight digital drawing styluses are available for students to utilize for class work.
Game Art, Game Design and Multimedia and Interface Design utilize the A24 labs as well as the West 213 PC-based lab in the West Building. These labs all have software for developing graphic and motion assets (Adobe and related packages), as well as game design programming and development software such as Unity. An extensive library of board and pen and paper games is also available, as are several gaming consoles on which to test and research current game offerings. An Oculus VR module also can be used for development in those environments.
Audio Production is taught in the Digital Music studio A26 in the Arts Building, which houses 13 digital audio workstations with avid Mbox, and a complete suite of up-to-date audio and music writing, editing and recording software. The studio also offers 10 new Oxygen 61 MA audio digital synthesizers.
The department manages the annual maintenance and programming of the RVCC Art Gallery, located on the lower level of the College Center. Eight exhibitions are held per year, each with an opening reception and, in some cases, artists’ talks. Regular events include two Student Art Exhibitions, the Art Faculty Exhibition, a Juried Art Students Exhibition, and a Holiday Art Show and Sale of student, faculty and alumni work held in December. Two exhibitions per year are curated by full-time visual arts faculty based on submitted exhibition proposals. All exhibitions are free of charge and open to the public.
Two Dance studios are also located in the Arts Building. The main studio is equipped with a wood-sprung floor and Marley surface, mirror, barres and a media/projection unit. The studio serves classes in modern dance, ballet, jazz, repertory performance and choreography. A second studio, with a wood-sprung floor and mirrors, is primarily used as a rehearsal space. Dance concerts utilize the Edward Nash Theatre, a proscenium-style stage with 1,000 seats on two levels. The Welpe Theatre, a flexible studio/black box space, is a perfect setting for more intimate and experimental performances.
The Music program classes are held in the Arts Building. The music rehearsal studio is used for performing ensemble rehearsals, music classes and small recitals. A second classroom-studio is equipped with electronic pianos for keyboard proficiency and theory study. An electronic music lab is equipped with computer-keyboard stations with MIDI-equipped synthesizers and selected music technologies and software programs for music notation and ear-training skills. All music studios are equipped with sound reproduction equipment. A fourth music classroom for music theory classes is equipped with a digital projector and sound reproduction equipment. Informal concerts/recitals are held in the music rehearsal studio. Formal concerts/recitals are presented in the Welpe and Nash theatres. Soundproof practice modules are available to music students for instrumental or vocal practice.
The Theatre program classes are taught in the College Theatre (in the Welpe Theatre) and in two dedicated classrooms (A34 and A36) in the Arts Building. Theatre productions—both dramatic and musical—dance concerts, and music recitals and concerts are held in the Edward Nash Theatre or the smaller Welpe Theatre. In addition, the Theatre Lab is used as the classroom for all of the Acting classes and as a small rehearsal studio. The unit is equipped with a room with spotlights, curtain, and storage space for props.
Workforce Training Center
RVCC’s 47,000 square foot Workforce Training Center, which opened in spring 2017, is home to a variety of programs created to better serve the community’s economic and employment needs. Half of the facility, which includes prefabricated construction design methods, features double-height areas to accommodate trade programs in such fields as Automotive Technology, Advanced Manufacturing, Commercial Energy Management (Networked DDC & Energy Audits) and Environmental Control Technology (HVAC/R). The other half of the building is two stories and includes space for administrative offices, professional development courses, and beauty industry programs such as Cosmetology and Esthetics. RVCC partnered with local industry and business leaders to design and build training programs in accordance with local employer and expert worker specifications. The goal is to work with the business community and provide the educational resources that foster highly skilled and productive employees.
The state-of-the art facility features:
- An Automotive Technology training center equipped with diagnostic equipment, offering Subaru, MOPAR, Toyota, Ford and Mercedes training and preparing graduates to take the Automotive Service Excellence Certification tests.
- A working salon and spa for Cosmetology and Esthetics students to master their skills.
- Advanced Manufacturing shop equipped with 3D printing, Haas CNC machines, Vertical/Horizontal Bandsaws, Surface Grinders, Drill Press, Optical Comparator, Proto Trak Lathes, CNC Routers and welding labs to expertly prepare students to meet the regional employment demand for entry-level and advanced skilled machinists.
- Environmental Control Technology (HVAC/R) and Commercial Energy Management (Building Automation & Energy Auditing) shops equipped with the latest equipment for students to learn and master these trades.
- A Small Business Development Center that counsels over 400 clients annually in starting or expanding businesses and trains more than 900 people annually on a wide variety of small business subjects.
- Modern classrooms for continuing education endeavors or corporate teams to refine critical skills from subject-matter experts with industry-driven curriculum, as well as customized training programs.
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