Kevin Riordan, Inquirer Columnist
Even before its botched unveiling, the proposed shotgun wedding of Rutgers-Camden and Rowan University left many South Jerseyans cold.
But we found the notion to radically remake higher education in our part of the world even less compelling after Gov. Christie made it public Jan. 25 as a virtual fait accompli. Citing a handful of pages in a state commission report otherwise focused on the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, the Republican governor cavalierly decreed that the lives of tens of thousands of students, professors, employees, alumni, and residents would change forever.
Not because any of us asked (much less voted) for this, mind you, but because it would be “best” for New Jersey.
Talk about big government!
But Christie and his equally overambitious Democratic allies unintentionally inspired a grassroots rebellion. And Wednesday, busloads of law school professors and others sporting scarlet “Save Rutgers-Camden” regalia converged on a joint meeting of the Rutgers board of trustees and board of governors in New Brunswick.
The boards asserted the university’s rights by demanding a role in the merger’s latest incarnation: A state Senate bill calling for what would technically remain separate institutions under a single research-university structure with guaranteed state funding and significant local control.
The boards want any such restructuring arrangement to be negotiated between the university and the lawmakers.
“This is a victory for Rutgers-Camden,” an elated Adam Scales said en route to a celebration at a local watering hole. The law professor said the boards’ action “establishes the principles Rutgers will use to evaluate any legislation. We have always been open to genuine, good faith negotiations … but we know there will be battles ahead.”
Starting immediately: Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald (D., Camden) wasted no time in announcing that he would introduce legislation “identical” to the Senate proposal Thursday.
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