Bloomfield College Opens Scott H. Kaplan Gallery

New library art space named for 2002 college graduate who died of complications from muscular dystrophy in 2003.

On Thursday, Bloomfield College officials opened their new Scott H. Kaplan  Art gallery, named for a fondly remembered 2002 graduate who passed away a year after graduation from muscular dystrophy. Kaplan, a Verona resident, was a Creative Arts & Technology student skilled with graphic design who made his mark on the campus as a student, friend and advocate for the disabled. The new gallery, on the second floor of the Bloomfield library, was partially funded by Kaplan’s parents who have pledged money over the next five years for the upkeep of the space. The Kaplans also fund a scholarship in their son's name that has been awarded to seven students. Speaking at the dedication of the gallery, Ellen Kaplan, Scott’s mother, said they were …

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Montclair Museum Offering Free Admission for Bloomfield College Students

Students can visit museum for free until “Bloomfield Avenue Hotline” is taken down in June.

In honor of a recently installed arty connection between the two institutions, the Montclair Museum is offering free admission to Bloomfield College students during the run of the Bloomfield Avenue Prize. Earlier this month, two yellow phone booths were installed at the museum and the college as part of “Bloomfield Avenue Hotline.” With the phones, users can hear pre-recorded messages based on conversations artists Karina Aguila Skvirsky and Liselot van der Heijden have had with members from each community or leave messages that can be heard by others. A representative of the Museum told Patch that students need to do is bring a valid ID. The exhibit will run through June 16.

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Bloomfield College Holds Emergency Drill

Emergency simulation exercise brought in Bloomfield police and fire for mock bomb threat.

Classes were briefly suspended for Bloomfield College students on Thursday when cops, firefighters and other emergency responders took over the campus in an emergency simulation exercise.  Bloomfield college staff and students were shepherded into the school's gym during while the campus was swept by Essex County's bomb squad, Bloomfield police, Bloomfield firefighters and the township office of emergency management.  In the exercise, required to be held annually by New Jersey's President's Council, the school was simulating a bomb threat. In a press release, the school said the "table top" exercise was intended to spark conversations among participants about the process.  Students and staff were alerted earlier in the day about the mock …

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“Bloomfield Avenue Hotline” Connects Montclair Museum with Bloomfield College

Phone booth inspired piece opens Thursday.

Modern technology may have made pay phones a thing of the past, but an artistic collaboration between Bloomfield College and the Montclair Art Museum is looking to revitalize the phone booth. Opening on April, 4, the project involves two phone booths; one at the College in the College Library and one at the Museum in Lehman Court, the Museum’s main entrance hall. Users can hear pre-recorded messages based on conversations artists Karina Aguila Skvirsky and Liselot van der Heijden have had with members from each community or leave messages that can be heard by others. “This joint venture brings together two institutions that value art as a way to unite communities,” Marion Terenzio, vice president of academic affairs and dean of faculty at …

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Obama's College Scorecard Ranks Bloomfield College Low for Graduation, High for Student Loan Defaults

Scoreboard ranking all higher-education institutions in the country released by Obama administration this week.

The rankings are in for Bloomfield College. On Wednesday, the Obama administration released a new interactive College Scorecard that offers students and parents basic information about colleges, including statistics on schools' graduation rates, tuition costs, average borrowing rates and employment history of former graduates. So what does the new scorecard say about Bloomfield College? Here’s a quick rundown:  The new College Scorecard was announced by President Barack Obama during his State of the Union address to the joint session of Congress on Tuesday.  “... Parents and students can use [the new scorecard],” said Obama, “to compare schools based on a simple criteria: Where you can get the most bang for your educational buck.” …

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Bloomfield College Nursing Students Drop By The United Nations

Students and faculty took seminars about human trafficking.

  Bloomfield College students stopped by the United Nations in New York City to attend seminars about human trafficking.  Recently, 29 senior nursing students, five faculty members and College Chaplain Rev. Sherry Karasik were given a private tour of the United Nations building and spent the afternoon with Carol Smolenski of ECPAT, a worldwide organization devoted to ending human trafficking in all areas of society. The nursing students learned about the different types of trafficking, the causes –such as poverty, kidnapping, and false promises of a better life – and how to recognize and report victims of trafficking. Often times in very impoverished areas, parents will give up their children for slave labor, many thinking that they are on…

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Bloomfield College Development Gets Green Light

The mixed-use building was approved by the Bloomfield Planning Board, according to Bloomfield Life.

  Bloomfield College's new development will include a Barnes & Noble bookstore, Starbucks and dorm rooms, reports Bloomfield Life.  The Planning Board approved the mixed-use development project on Tuesday, paving the way for the new building to be constructed at the intersection of Broad Street and Franklin Avenue, the paper wrote.  The development will house 234 students. It is expected to be completed by the fall of 2014, according to the paper. 

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Week Ahead: Gas Lamp Players and Korean Festival

The Bloomfield Farmers Market continues on Thursdays through October

The Bloomfield Public Library Movies have a Halloween theme all month.    Monday’s film is “Dead and Buried." The sheriff of a small New England town discovers that strangers are being killed by mobs of townspeople. Things turn bizarre when the corpses come back to life. Jack Albertson steals the show as William G. Dobbs, the eccentric local undertaker who is happy for the extra business. Thursday’s flick is “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken." This comic mystery stars Don Knotts as Luther Heggs, a small town reporter who, in order to get his big break, must spend the night in a mansion that is celebrating the 20th anniversary of a famous murder-suicide.  Creepy and funny, this is a wonderful Halloween movie for all ages. Both films begin at 12:15…

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Campus Beat in Bloom

Deacon Pride at Bloomfield College's Annual Fall Festival

Tons of students, alumni expected at Saturday's Deacons Fest at Bloomfield College

Editor's note: Bloomfield College Beat is a weekly feature written by BC students focusing on life on campus. This week's column is written by students Kyle Hopson and Jessica Desire. On a cool Saturday afternoon, alumni, current students, faculty and staff come together in Bloomfield apparel and celebrate on the quad of Bloomfield College. A deejay is playing music, student organizations are out and about, and there are great food and plenty of people milling around, from current students to alumni to high school students interested in attending the college. Welcome to Deacon’s Fest, the annual Bloomfield College version of homecoming, which is hosted by the college’s admissions department. This year’s event will be held on Oct. 20. …

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Bloomfield College Dorm Catches Fire

Firefighters unsure what caused small blaze to break out in room.

A back room in a Bloomfield College dormitory on Austin Place caught fire around 5:15 p.m. Sunday forcing students onto the street as the fire department evacuated the three-story building.  The fire blew out a window but was contained to the room where it started. It was put out in 10 minutes, fire officials said.  "The RA (resident assistant) wasn't sure if everyone was out," Deputy Fire Chief Joseph Critchley said. "We did a full sweep of the building and everyone was out." The cause of the fire is unknown, but Critchley said the fire started on some notebooks and clothes. The fire inspector was investigating.  Two engines and one truck responded to the fire. Montclair, Belleville and East Orange provided mutual aid.

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