Its growth you can feel and see with the addition of a brand new $55-million dormitory; it is the first new on-campus housing complex in more than 20 years.
"More people that are on campus, the more people that are involved, it's going to build more pride in itself," Student Body President Brandon Quiles said.
"We needed to build a case that students wanted to live in the city of Camden and we've done that now," Chancellor Wendell Pritchett said.
The 12-story building is divided into more than 100 apartments accommodating about 350, mostly graduate, students.
The building has wireless internet. It's hi-tech even down to the laundry room; the system shoots out a text message when a laundry cycle is complete.
The Cooper Street dormitory has many environmentally friendly features like energy star appliances, compact fluorescent light bulbs and carpets, cabinets, and furniture made of recycled materials.
The city students can step outside onto an enclosed roof for fresh air and study in a nature-friendly space packed with plants.
Rutgers says as its campus continues to grow it will work with the city to spur economic development.
"We realized that Rutgers-Camden is only successful if the city is successful and so we have to be in partnership with the residents of the city and the leadership of the city and we have to be doing things together," Pritchett said.
