Higher Education for All — Since the Beginning
A Historic Vision for Higher Education
The nascent idea of the community college first saw the light of day in 1947 as part of then-U.S. President Harry S. Truman’s commission report on the state of higher education in America. A six-volume report suggested the establishment of a network of public community colleges across the country that would be free of charge for all youth who could benefit from a higher education.
Following the act’s passage, a special committee of County Freeholders and educators prepared a study, which showed the need for a community college in Atlantic County. In December 1963, the State of New Jersey Department of Education granted approval for the establishment of Atlantic Community College, thus becoming the second community college to be organized by the state on April 14, 1964. Since its passage in 1962, 16 community colleges have been established in New Jersey.
In the Spring of 1982, the former Atlantic City Electric Company building was purchased by Atlantic County for Atlantic Cape’s permanent Atlantic City campus, which opened in 1984 after a $4 million renovation project transformed the aging building into a beautiful modern facility that hosts the Casino Career Institute (CCI), the country’s first higher education affiliated gaming school.
The Academy of Culinary Arts building on the Mays Landing campus opened in October 1991 and features more than 29,000 square feet of space. The building's entrance opens to an atrium lobby with a glass ceiling that allows natural light to fill the space. The building features teaching kitchens, classrooms, a 70-seat student-run gourmet restaurant, Carême's, with a 25-seat greenhouse room, service and storage areas, and administrative and faculty offices.
The Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) building opened in 2015 adjacent to the Library. The 32,475-square-foot building was designed by the Philadelphia firm Stantec Architects and is eligible for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver certification for its environmentally "green" design. The STEM building contains labs for chemistry, biology and earth science, as well as an air traffic control simulation lab. The building also includes unique dry-erase walls, an astronomy observation area and partially vegetative roof. 
On May 30, 2017, Atlantic Cape was designated an Anchor Institution. The signing of the historic "Declaration of Commitment," which was endorsed by 18 other New Jersey colleges and universities, pledged to "leverage the resources of higher education institutions to revitalize, strengthen, empower and improve their respective communities." The New Jersey Coalition of Anchor Institutions has charter members in Atlantic City, Camden, Newark, Paterson and Trenton.
In July 1995, the New Jersey Higher Education declined the county's request for an independent college and recommended that it enter into a partnership with a neighboring community college, citing such benefits of a joint college as a larger population base, economies of scale, immediate availability and accreditation of curricula, and elimination of duplication of efforts and costs.