Prior to 1946 New Jersey had no College for the study of medicine or dentistry. Students were required to leave the state for these specialties and many did not return. In 1954 the SHCMD was established under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. It was incorporated on August 6, 1954 as a legal entity separate from Seton Hall University but with an interlocking Board of Trustees. In September 1955 remodeling construction was begun in two buildings of the Jersey City Medical Center to house the clinical and teaching facilities of the College. The first class of 80 students was admitted to the four-year MD program in September 1956. From the first graduating class in 1960 through 1964 the College awarded the MD degree to a total of 348 individuals. There were 36 dental graduates in the first class of 1960. By 1963 the total reached 139. The college expanded its program in 1961 when the Graduate School of Biomedical Science was chartered by the State Board of Education. The first candidates for the M.S. and Ph.D. degree entered in 1962. Early in 1961 it became apparent that the Archdiocese of Newark could not support the College's growing financial deficit that threatened to force the institution's closure. In April 1964 Governor Richard J. Hughes, with leaders of the Senate and General Assembly, appointed a fact-finding committee to determine the feasibility of the State's taking over and operating the SHCMD. On July 28, 1964, the committee recommended that the State purchase the assets of the SHCMD for $4 million and continue its operation under State control. The action was consummated on May 3, 1965, and the institution's name was officially changed to the New Jersey College of Medicine and Dentistry (NJCMD).