By Angela Delli Santi, Associated Press.
TRENTON — Proponents of an ambitious plan to restructure higher education in New Jersey are scrambling to get the measure through both houses of the Legislature and to the governor’s desk by week’s end.
The bill creates a quasi-merger between Rowan University and Rutgers’ Camden campus, and dissolves the University of Medicine and Dentistry, transferring most of it to Rutgers.
The plan is supported by Gov. Chris Christie and South Jersey Democratic power broker George Norcross III. But it is a work in progress, with unanswered questions about how much it will cost.
The Assembly Budget Committee is set to hear the bill Monday. Two Senate committees have advanced it, though several of the lawmakers who voted yes acknowledged lingering concerns. It is likely to face final approval in both houses on Thursday — perhaps skipping a hearing in the Assembly Higher Education Committee — before advancing to Christie’s desk in time to meet the Republican governor’s self-imposed deadline of Saturday.
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