Motto | Eruditio perpetua vitae (Latin) |
---|---|
Motto in English
|
Learning throughout life |
Type | Public Liberal Arts |
Established | 1972 |
President | George A. Pruitt |
Undergraduates | 17,591 |
Postgraduates | 1,093 |
Location | Trenton, New Jersey, US |
Campus | Urban |
Colors | Burgundy and beige |
Affiliations | New Jersey State Library, University of South Africa, National Institute on the Assessment of Adult Learning in cooperation with the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning |
Website | tesu |
Thomas Edison State University, formerly Thomas Edison State College, is a public institution of higher education located in Trenton, New Jersey. One of New Jersey's 11 public universities and colleges, Thomas Edison State University offers degrees at the undergraduate and graduate level. Thomas Edison State College was approved by the New Jersey Board of Education in December 1971, and established on July 1, 1972. The school was named in honor of Thomas Alva Edison, the inventor who lived in New Jersey for the bulk of his adult life and gained encyclopedic knowledge of many subject areas through self-directed learning. In 2015, Thomas Edison State University was awarded university status upon the approval of the state college Presidents' Council and Secretary of Higher Education Rochelle Hendricks. The school's Board of Trustees approved a resolution authorizing the change in December 2015.
Thomas Edison State University moved into downtown Trenton in September 1979, at a time when other institutions were leaving cities. The 7-year-old university, which had spent three years at the Forrestal Center outside of Princeton, needed room for growth. At the same time, the state was looking for an appropriate tenant for the landmark Kelsey Building located adjacent to New Jersey's State House complex and the State House historic district, while the city sought to preserve the building's historic use as a school. Behind the Kelsey Building and the adjoining five restored mid-19th-century brick Townhouses is Petty's Run, which flows to the Delaware River. In the early 1730s, Petty's Run powered a plating mill, and by midcentury drove a steel furnace.
Built in 1911 by A. Henry Cooper Kelsey, the Kelsey Building is one of the architectural landmarks of the city. It housed three other schools before serving as the headquarters for Thomas Edison State University. The architecture of the Kelsey Building is modeled after a Florentine palace, the Palazzo Strozzi. The main structure was designed in 1910 by world-renowned architect Cass Gilbert (designer of New York City's Woolworth Building). In 2011, the Kelsey Building celebrated its 100th Anniversary.
The university's campus has expanded over the years and currently includes the Kelsey Building, the Townhouse Complex, the Center for Learning and Technology, and Kuser Mansion, all on West State Street. The Academic Center and Canal Banks Building are located on West Hanover Street.