Rutgers-Newark Welcomes Community Virtually for Admitted Students Day

The Rutgers-Newark community gathered digitally on Saturday, April 18, for the 2020 Virtual Admitted Students Day. From 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., students were able to access a variety of campus resources, including welcome videos, a list of available majors, and links to various departments such as Financial Aid, Residence Life, and RU-N Dining. Usually taking place as an in-person event, this year’s Virtual Admitted Students Day reflected the measures taken by the university to protect all its students and staff from the coronavirus, resulting in an online experience.

The kickstart of the event began with welcoming words from the chancellor, accessible from the main page.

“We are so excited to imagine you being here with us,” said Chancellor Nancy Cantor. “This is an unprecedented moment for all of us. Our families are in flux. Our world is in flux — but we are a community, and the thing I love about Rutgers-Newark is that we’ve always been a community.”

Rutgers University-Newark is a world-class urban research and teaching institution, with 13,500+ students and more than 500 faculty. For over 20 years, Rutgers-Newark was rated as the most diverse national campus by U.S. News & World Report. The university offers more than 40 majors and awards approximately 60 doctoral degrees, 1,000 graduate degrees, and 1,200 baccalaureate degrees each year.

The university is made up of seven schools, which include: Newark College of Arts & Sciences (NCAS); University College (UC); Rutgers Business School (RBS); the School of Criminal Justice; the School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA); Graduate School-Newark (GSN); and Rutgers Law School.

All of the schools, including RBS, have a notable reputation. RBS has earned Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International accreditation and offers programs in the fields of finance, accounting, marketing, and more. In addition to the many available majors, the school also provides outreach through mentoring programs and the New Jersey Small Business Development Center.

For Virtual Admitted Students Day, students had access to videos detailing information about each school, beginning with a warm welcome from each dean.

“You have worked so hard to achieve a strong academic performance, together with a determined mind, to go to business school — and now you are accepted and you will be prepared to become a future business leader,” said Dr. Lei Lei, dean of RBS.

In addition to having welcome messages from the deans, each school showcased a snippet of campus life at Rutgers-Newark, along with a detailed webinar explaining each school’s specific programs. Dr. Charles Menifield, dean of SPAA, described the successful impact the program has had on its graduates.

“SPAA’s graduates have successfully secured chief executive positions in public and nonprofit organizations around the world, in addition to receiving tenure track positions in colleges and universities around the world,” said Menifield.

While this is Rutgers-Newark’s first Virtual Admitted Students Day, the turnout was successful with more than 900 people tuning in. Although individuals are socially distanced, Chancellor Cantor believes that during these challenging times, the university community is stronger than ever.

“You’re here today, at a distance to be sure, but soon we’ll be close up in person —and the one thing we know is nobody changes the world alone; and Rutgers-Newark is about changing the world,” said the chancellor.

To learn more about Virtual Admitted Students Day, click on the titles for the Meet the Deans Session and the Ask An Ambassador Student Panel.