Not so fast on merger, Rutgers boards say
A victory, for now, for opponents of the Rutgers-Rowan mashup
UPDATED AT 5:13 AM
Members of two boards overseeing Rutgers University declared Wednesday that decisions about the future of the state university system's three campuses, including Camden, are not the sole purview of the New Jersey legislature.
The board of trustees and board of governors want Rutgers to hash out any restructuring plan with the legislature, where some Democrats support Chris Christie's call to merge Rutgers-Camden and Rowan universities as part of the governor's proposal to revamp higher education statewide.
The meeting in New Brunswick drew an overflow crowd of merger opponents and followed by two days a so-called compromise proposal by Senate Democrats. Two hours after the Rutgers boards took their stand, Democratic leaders in the Assembly announced they will today introduce a measure "identical" to the Senate proposal.
Read my column about the latest Rut-Row developments here.