By Leslie Brody and Patricia Alex. Staff Writers. The Record.
Rowan University’s governing board on Monday pushed back slightly against legislation that would create another board to supersede its authority over the school in Glassboro.
Legislation introduced last week would partner Rowan with Rutgers-Camden and both would be overseen by a joint board.
Rowan trustees on Monday said they would only endorse a plan in which that joint board would oversee joint initiatives between the two schools but would have no veto power over issues specific to the Rowan campus.
The statement came after a closed door meeting that lasted more than two hours. In an earlier public session a half dozen speakers cautioned about the loss of autonomy for Rowan outlined in a bill to restructure some of New Jersey’s largest public universities.
The bill, which was introduced last week, is scheduled for its first hearing in the Legislature on Thursday.
Rowan’s faculty and staff are slated to vote Friday on a resolution opposing the bill, which also would have Rutgers absorb much of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in New Brunswick and Newark.
In South Jersey, there is a concern that the joint board, made up of political appointees, would rob both schools of autonomy.
“This is not a restructuring action but a destructuring action,” said Sanford Tweedie, a writing professor. “We cannot let the desires of a few dictate what is best for our institution, our future.”
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