At the board
Rutgers delays new Guard registration procedures
Archived article from Oct 19, 2001
By Douglas Frank
Rutgers will delay implementing new registration procedures for students enrolled in the New Jersey National Guard tuition remission program, President Francis L. Lawrence announced at the Oct. 12 Board of Governors meeting.
The new procedures, requiring Guard members to wait until the first day of classes to register for courses, were scheduled to go into effect next semester. These would have more closely followed the provisions of current state law, under which Guard members may attend class tuition-free on a space-available basis.
Rutgers is working with the leadership of the New Jersey National Guard and the state legislature to seek enactment of a state-funded benefit program for Guard members that would eliminate the space-available provision. Lawrence noted the university "strongly supports the bipartisan proposals for a program recently introduced by Assemblymen Robert G. Smith and Leonard Lance and by Sens. John Bennett and John Lynch."
"In the hope that these efforts would be successful, we decided not to implement the new procedures during the spring semester of 2002," he said. "That decision seems all the more wise and necessary in light of the tragic events of Sept. 11, which have deeply affected our campus, our state and our nation."
In its regular business, the board inducted new member Louis DiFazio, retired president of Bristol-Myers Squibb. A 1959 College of Pharmacy graduate, DiFazio was vice chair of the Rutgers Board of Trustees in 1999-2000 and has served as a member of the Board of Overseers since 1994. He was named alumnus of the year in 1991 by the College of Pharmacy Alumni Association.
A working budget for 2001-2002 of $1.4 billion, reflecting an increase of $52.3 million, was approved by the board. It provides additional funds to advance the university's strategic planning priorities, continue the RUNet 2000 voice, video and data technology initiative, and support selected improvements as well as a 2001-2002 salary program.
Yogesh Jaluria was named a Board of Governors Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, recognizing his "pioneering and lasting contributions in a wide variety of fundamental and applied areas in fluid mechanics and heat transfer." These include more than 300 technical articles and book chapters, patents and computer codes, and several books laying the groundwork for the development of the field.
Gloria Bonilla-Santiago was named a Distinguished Service Professor for her "visionary leadership in the creation of the LEAP Academy Charter School in Camden, which encourages the collaboration of parents, children, the university and the community in the education of the city's children, and for her pioneering work in establishing the Center for Strategic Urban Community Leadership, which provides women with the skills to assume leadership positions."
In other business, the board approved the establishment of a master of arts degree in criminal justice at the Graduate School-Camden, subject to review by the New Jersey Presidents' Council. The board also set a minimum grade point average of 2.0 to be required for graduation university-wide.
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