By Peter Simmons
Especially pertinent in Sunday’s discussion of higher education in New Jersey (“The Rutgers shake-up: Why bigger is better,” June 10) are thecomments of Dr. Susan Cole, president of Montclair State University and a former vice president of Rutgers, and Linda Stamato, former chair of the Rutgers Board of Governors. They know more about higher education in New Jersey than most elected public officials and both identify the starting place for any serious improvement in the current “system.”
A statewide, long-term plan for higher education must precede any reorganization of Rutgers. The Legislature and governor must ascertain the share of the state’s resources to be committed to higher education over the next 25 years, and then how those funds will be allocated among all systems of higher education.
The relevance of planning is obvious in Newark. Montclair State, the New Jersey Institute of Technology and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey are part of the Newark metropolitan area and their relation to Rutgers-Newark — in terms of academic mission, physical growth, public service and program development — should be agreed upon before there is major reorganization.
More>>
