TCNJ

12 FALL 2017 P R A I R I E B R A G B O A R D 5 SEE US SMILE Money's "Best Colleges for Your Money 2017" ranks TCNJ 14th among all U.S. public colleges and 24th overall based on graduation rates, cost of degree, and early career earnings. In New Jersey, TCNJ is first among all public colleges and universities and second overall. Forbes' "America's Top Colleges 2017" had the exact same thought, ranking Princeton and TCNJ first and second in New Jersey. Forbes bases its ranking on return on investment and other factors, including alumni salary, graduation rate, and student satisfaction. 13 things that make us smile... THIS PAGE: BILL CARDONI; BETTMAN/GETTY IMAGES. FACING: NBC/GETTY IMAGES; TRISTAN FEWINGS/GETTY IMAGES; CLASSROOM, LAUREN H. ADAMS 4 Packs a punch 1986 grad Jeff Feuerzeig's screenplay for Chuck hit the big screen this year. The feature biopic, starring Liev Schreiber and Naomi Watts, brings to life the story of Bayonne's boxing legend Chuck "The Bleeder" Wepner. 6 THE FUTURE LOOKS (FUL)BRIGHT Chris Dinon '17 and Parth Parikh '14 have been selected as 2017–18 Fulbright Scholars. Both will teach English to high school students — Dinon in Madrid, Spain, and Parikh in New Delhi, India. "Being born in the U.S., I didn't feel a strong attachment to where my family is from, and I wanted to change that," says Parikh. Knockout Muhammad Ali and Wepner in the 1975 heavyweight title bout that inspired Rocky. 3 $91K Amount of a new U.S. EPA grant to expand environmental education in elementary schools in central New Jersey. College faculty will partner with TCNJ's Sustainability Institute to train teachers in five schools this fall. 2 2 1,557 in the Class of 2021, up from 1,531 the year before. 24 have black belts. One is a competitive Rubik's Cube solver. 2 2 Q U I Z What kind of tree is most common on campus? Northern red oak 1 BIG DIG Anthropology professors George Leader and Jared Beatrice are working with students to excavate, clean, and study 200-year-old coffins and bones found at a construction site in Philadelphia. The remains are most likely from one of the city's first cemeteries at the Old First Baptist Church. "They're just bones, until we can figure out who lived in these bones," says Leader.

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