A Brief History of Bloomfield College
The roots of the College and its mission can be traced back to 1868. With the influx of nearly two million German immigrants following the European Revolution of 1848, it became necessary to establish a training school for German-speaking ministers.
Thus was born the German Theological Seminary of Newark, New Jersey. The institution's first four students met on September 16, 1869, in a room in the First German Presbyterian Church. Courses in theological instruction, Biblical history, pastoral work, natural philosophy, and United States history were taught in both English and German by the four full-time faculty. Classes were also conducted in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.
In 1872, the school relocated to Bloomfield, occupying the home of the former Bloomfield Academy at Franklin and Liberty Streets. This structure stands today as Seibert Hall.
In 1923, the State Board of Education approved a four-year college course leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree, thereby establishing Bloomfield College as an independent division of the Seminary. Eight years later, in 1931, the State Legislature approved the change of the institution's name to Bloomfield College and Seminary.
The term "Seminary" was dropped from the institution's name in 1961, and was replaced with the term "Institute". This term was quickly phased out, leaving the institution's name as it is known today: Bloomfield College.
