At the senate
Higher education merger discussed
Archived article from Nov 4, 2002
By Mark Maben
The proposed merger of Rutgers with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) and the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) was the dominant topic at the Oct. 18 University Senate meeting. Held on the Newark campus, the meeting also featured remarks by acting President Norman Samuels and a report on the state of Rutgers-Newark by acting Provost Steven J. Diner (see sidebar).
Roy Vagelos, chair of the New Jersey Commission on Health Science, Education and Training and a member of the Rutgers Board of Governors, discussed the commission's Oct. 14 report recommending that the state create a single research university system by combining the eight UMDNJ schools, the three Rutgers campuses and NJIT. The envisioned system would feature campuses in Newark, New Brunswick/Piscataway and Stratford/Camden, each operating as an independent university with its own president. All three universities would have their own undergraduate and graduate programs and medical school.
The commission also called for the creation of a university chancellor, board of regents and advisory boards. The chancellor would be responsible for hiring the three university presidents, as well as systemwide planning, budget requests and relations with state government. Vagelos methodically took the audience through the eight months the commission spent studying how to improve first medical education and then higher education overall as its scope broadened. The group ultimately concluded that Rutgers, UMDNJ and NJIT would rise in stature if the schools were combined into three regional, autonomous universities.
"It is not only science that improves when you put together these disparate faculties," Vagelos said. "All faculties and all student bodies will improve, because they will benefit from the interdisciplinary exchange of ideas."
The next step in the process, Vagelos noted, includes work by an implementation task force that will take the commission's vision and flesh out the details. Vagelos will chair the task force.
Vagelos encouraged the senate to become involved in this issue. "The wonderful thing is that the governor wants to make this a high priority, so it is up to us to come up with a plan that excites him and that will depend on the faculty," he said. "You are ones that have to make it happen."
During the question-and-answer session, many embraced the concept of making Rutgers an even greater university but wondered whether merging schools would achieve that goal. Some thought that too little time has been given to respond to the recommendations and that the report focused too narrowly on the health sciences. Others questioned whether the new structure would give Trenton too much influence over higher education and whether faculty and students would have an influential voice in creating the implementation plan.
Addressing a question on funding the new university system, Vagelos suggested that the state consider adopting a set funding formula to ensure that politics and parochial interests stay out of the budget process.
In his remarks earlier that afternoon, acting President Samuels encouraged the senate to focus attention on the challenges facing the university, especially the restructuring of higher education. "The proposal before us is one we should approach with a great deal of enthusiasm," he said. "It is a proposal to reach for greatness, to turn New Jersey's research universities into the best in the country. I like to hear talk like that."
Samuels cautioned, however, that the university would need time to look at the issue closely to be sure that what emerges is indeed a strengthened university system.
"What is important for us now is to take a good hard look at the proposal and our own needs,¡" he said. "As a university, we are accustomed to looking at things carefully, to searching for truth and analyzing information. Nobody will gain anything from going about this in a rush." Samuels has asked senior campus and area administrators to gather reactions from all constituencies to help Rutgers respond both to the merger proposal and the many issues left unaddressed by the commission's report.
The commission's report can be found online at www.state.nj.us/health/hset/hset.pdf.
State of the Newark campus
Acting Provost Steven J. Diner gave an overview of the current state of affairs at the Newark campus during his address to the senate Oct. 18. Diner was delighted to share the good news that Rutgers-Newark remains a vibrant and thriving campus.
The Newark campus had an abundance of impressive accomplishments in 2001-02 as it continued to fulfill its two historic missions -- providing a first-rate education to first-generation college students and training highly skilled professionals.
The school is also strengthening a more recently added mission, Diner said. "In the last 20 to 25 years, largely under Provost Samuels' leadership, a third dimension has been added to the mission of Rutgers¨CNewark, and that is advanced graduate study and research," he said.
Diner touted the school's role in revitalizing the city of Newark, as well as its use of the city as a resource for learning. "We take maximum advantage of our location," he said. "We see the city as providing enormous opportunities for experiential learning, internships and courses that go out into the city for research."
Also highlighted were the strong partnerships between the campus and nearby NJIT and UMDNJ, and a recent surge in enrollment.
-- Mark Maben
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