Overture 04-58. On Recognizing Bloomfield College as a Racial Ethnic College Related to the PC(USA)—From the Presbytery of Newark.

The Presbytery of Newark overtures the 216th General Assembly (2004) to direct the General Assembly Council, through the National Ministries Division, to do the following:

1. Recognize Bloomfield College, Bloomfield, New Jersey, as a racial ethnic college related to the PC(USA) by covenant with the Synod of the Northeast.

2. Admit Bloomfield College to the list of schools and colleges supported through the Christmas Joy Offering.

Rationale

For more than 130 years, Bloomfield College has embraced a student body that is mainly composed of racial and ethnic minorities. Today the college’s students are drawn from the urban centers of northern New Jersey, as well as from the surrounding states, and from nearly fifty countries. Seventy percent of the college’s students are women; almost 50 percent are African American or African Caribbean; 35 percent are Caucasian; 13 percent are Hispanic; and 4 percent Asian. More than 95 percent of the fulltime students receive financial aid; and 20 percent are from families earning annual incomes under $12,000. Bloomfield College was ranked sixth in Campus Diversity among Northern Comprehensive Colleges according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2004 higher education rankings.

Bloomfield College is the only Presbyterian–related college in the Synod of the Northeast. Founded as a seminary to prepare German immigrants for ministry in the Presbyterian church, Bloomfield College has continually renewed itself to meet the changing needs of the community. The college is now a comprehensive liberal arts institution serving more than 2,000 students. The mission of Bloomfield College is to prepare students to attain academic, personal and professional excellence in a multicultural and global society.

Bloomfield students acquire a personal education that is both broadbased and practical. Since many of the students must be both fully employed and care for their families while pursuing degrees, the college offers flexible schedules that include weekend and evening sessions. Also, community service has been central to a Bloomfield College education since its founding. The required Sophomore Core Program teaches social responsibility through community service projects. Students give generously of their time and talents, volunteering at women’s shelters, teaching at local elementary schools, and counseling peers and junior high students. The students enrich the lives of others while gaining practical experience and self-confidence.

Bloomfield College has furthered its commitment to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) through the renewal of its covenant with the Synod of the Northeast and through the hiring of a full-time college chaplain who is an ordained Presbyterian minister of Word and Sacrament. The Westminster Foundation Advisory Board was established in 1998 to support the work of the chaplain and to strengthen the college’s Presbyterian heritage.

The northeastern region of the United States continues to be a center of the country’s growing diversity, yet there is currently no Presbyterian-related racial ethnic college from the region included in the church’s Christmas Joy Offering. Participation in the Christmas Joy Offering will help Bloomfield College to continue to provide a higher educational opportunity to students who have been historically excluded from its promise. At the same time, inclusion in the offering will help ensure an ongoing Presbyterian presence in the lives of these gifted and often neglected children of God.

The potential economic benefit of a college degree is greater now than at any other time in our history. It is critical that the young men and women of New Jersey’s urban areas are allowed to share in this opportunity. At Bloomfield College, many of these students experience an environment that allows them to obtain their degree and to face their futures in the spirit of optimism and self-reliance.

This overture is offered as an expression of the hope that the relationship between college and church shall continue and be strengthened in ways which enhance the unique mission and role of both the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and Bloomfield College.

Concurrence to Overture 04-58 from the Presbytery of New Brunswick.