After nearly nine years in the Navy, Robert Cooper expected to stay in nuclear power or teach in Camden’s public schools. Instead, at his then-father-in-law’s urging, he enrolled at Rutgers Law School. When a former sailor he had trained invited him to co-teach bankruptcy law, Cooper began a teaching career that has spanned more than 30 years and includes training pro bono volunteers.

A decade after becoming New Jersey’s first Purple Heart University, Rutgers–Camden marked Veterans Day with a wreath-laying ceremony and luncheon. Chancellor Dennis J. Shields thanked veterans across the university community for their military service and the leadership they demonstrate on campus and as members of the Rutgers–Camden family.

A new course at Rutgers University–Camden gives students an introduction to what it means to have a career in STEM, offering firsthand exposure to scientific research and the people behind it without requiring them to conduct experiments themselves.