Rutgers chief decries merger plan

Pushing back against Gov. Christie's proposal to merge Rutgers-Camden into Rowan University, the president of the Rutgers University system told a state legislative panel Monday that it was unlikely his university's governing boards would "willingly relinquish the campus."

"Given our choice at Rutgers, if we could pick and choose among the recommendations . . . we would not want to turn over the Rutgers-Camden campus to Rowan University," Richard L. McCormick told the Senate Higher Education Committee during a hearing in Trenton.

His remarks drew loud applause from dozens of students clad in Rutgers red and alumni who sat among the audience of about 100.

"I can't imagine that either the Rutgers Board of Governors or the Board of Trustees would willingly relinquish the campus, nor would I recommend that course, if there were the possibility of choosing among the recommendations," he said.

Christie's task force on higher education released a final report late last month that called for overhauling the state's higher education system, integrating facilities among Rutgers, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and Rowan with the goal of creating a more robust public university system with greater research potential.

Although Christie immediately embraced the plan, it's unclear how the mergers would happen and at what cost.

Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Sol Barer, the chairman of the governor's task force, said an implementation team is working out the possible costs and the road map.

He said that the task force decided to put Rutgers-Camden under the Rowan banner simply because it is the smaller of the two campuses and that Rutgers-Camden is a satellite campus for the main university, located in New Brunswick.

McCormick said that over the last six decades, as others business left Camden, Rutgers stayed, pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the troubled city. Along with its law school and business school, Rutgers expanded its offering for undergraduates, he said.

"We've made the campus an increasingly sought-out place in Camden," he said.