Surprise! N.J. college announces name change at graduation

The new name, which is effective immediately, comes as the private school is celebrating its 150th anniversary.

HACKETTSTOWN -- Centenary College ended its commencement ceremony Saturday with big news - the school is now a university.

Centenary College was granted university status by the state's Secretary of Higher Education, campus officials announced. The 2,200-private college becomes Centenary University, effective immediately.

Barbara-Jayne Lewthwaite, the college's outgoing president, helped announce the name change before more than 500 graduates at the commencement ceremony on the Hackettstown campus. The school surprised cheering graduates by unveiling a "Centenary University" banner at the end of the ceremony as confetti was thrown on the stage.

The university designation comes as the school is preparing to celebrate its 150^th anniversary.

Centenary College announced Saturday it was granted university status by the state Secretary of Higher Education and the school immediately changed its name from Centenary College to Centenary University. (Courtesy of Centenary University)Kelly Heyboer | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com 

"I was very determined that this goal came to fruition before I completed my tenure as Centenary president," Lewthwaite said before the ceremony.  "Centenary has been functioning as a university for many years. The state's approval has made this designation official. Being re-named Centenary University is reflective of Centenary's continued progress and excellence."

Centenary joins a growing list of New Jersey colleges becoming universities. Thomas Edison State College, Felician College, Caldwell College and Saint Peter's College are among those that gained university status and changed their names over the last few years.

New Jersey began relaxing its rules in the 1990s to allow more of the state's smaller colleges to become universities if they added graduate degrees and expanded other programs. Schools apply to the state Secretary of Higher Education to request an upgrade to university status.

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Centenary, which was founded as a tiny United Methodist college in Warren County in 1867, is now one of New Jersey's smallest universities. In addition to its main campus in Hackettstown, it has satellite campuses in Iselin and Parsippany and an equestrian facility in Washington Township in Morris County.

The school's name change comes as Centenary is expanding its graduate degree program to add a doctorate in educational leadership. The university is also considering adding a second doctorate in counseling, school officials said.

"Centenary College has continued to reinvent itself, demonstrating remarkable resilience in the face of various challenges as it meets the higher education needs of the surrounding area and the state," said Wolfgang Gstattenbauer, a Centenary graduate and chairman of the university's board of trustees. "As the only bachelor's and master's degree-granting institution for three-and-a-half counties in northwestern New Jersey, our mission is indeed special."

Though Centenary officially changed its name Saturday, campus officials said it will take about six months for the school to roll out its new logo, website, signs and branding to reflect the new identity. This year's graduates are expected to still have Centenary College printed on their degrees.

Amanda Deppa, incoming president of Centenary's Student Government Association, said she will be part of the first graduating class under the Centenary University name next year.

"The fact that Centenary is becoming a university should be exciting to all students who will witness this transition," said Deppa, of Wayne. "This is the beginning of a new journey for Centenary."