The proposed merger of Rutgers-Camden & Rowan University

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    Students and campus community members at Rutgers-Camden protest the proposed merger with Rowan University. (Emma Lee, courtesy of NewsWorks)

    Hour 1

    New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is pushing an advisory committee’s proposal to improve higher-education in the Garden State. The panel recommended consolidating a number of the state’s public universities to create larger and more competitive institutions. However, one part of the plan has sparked fierce opposition – the recommendation to merge Rutgers University’s Camden campus with Rowan University, located 20 miles away in Glassboro. The combined schools would be under the Rowan University name. Rutgers students and faculty have voiced their concerns about severing the Rutgers tie and losing their school name in favor of Rowan. Today we’ll talk about the Governor’s plan, what it means for the state and specifically for Rutgers-Camden and Rowan universities. Our guests are GEORGE NORCROSS, chairman of Cooper Health System and Cooper University Hospital in Camden; WENDELL PRITCHETT, chancellor of Rutgers University, Camden; and ALI HOUSHMAND, interim president for Rowan University.

    Listen to the mp3

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    [audio: 020712_100630.mp3]

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