R.I.P. Rutgers Camden

I’m feeling blue this morning staring at the juris doctorate degree hanging on my office wall, Save Jerseyans.

It was awarded after a lot of hard work by the “Rutgers Camden School of Law.” Not Rutgers New Brunswick or Newark. Not Rowan University or some out-of-state institution in NY or PA. Rather, I earned it at a school that proudly served as South Jersey’s 90-year old share of the nationally-recognized Rutgers brand. We get passed over quite a bit by North Jersey interests down here. Can you blame us for wanting our own piece of the pie?

Well, not for much longer it seems. Yesterday morning, Governor Christie held a press conference and announced his intention to personally ensure Rutgers Camden’s dissolution; the end result will its merger into a 17,000 person institution under the Rowan banner:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKRzsDkJ4lw

Naturally this decision didn’t happen in a vacuum. The Governor’s plan is a response to the UMDNJ Advisory Committee Final Report commissioned by his administration over a year ago. Read it and make up your own mind.

Plenty of South Jersey residents are none-too-pleased with the merger even if they accept the basic logic behind it. Southern Republicans (and North Jersey Democrats) will undoubtedly question the merits of a plan long-championed by notorious Democrat Party Boss George Norcross III. Many Rutgers Camden alumni will fret over the value of their degrees and the future condition of their alumni network.

A Facebook petition imploring Governor Christie to reconsider his position is already approaching 1,000 members.

I joined the Facebook group but frankly, Save Jerseyans, I haven’t decided what I would ask the Governor to do. It’s a lot to chew on. I need to think on it. Everyone in South Jersey should. If realized, this move will engender major and long-lasting repercussions for our region.

 

Matt Rooney
About Matt Rooney 8620 Articles
MATT ROONEY is SaveJersey.com's founder and editor-in-chief, a practicing New Jersey attorney, and the host of 'The Matt Rooney Show' on 1210 WPHT every Sunday evening from 7-10PM EST.

7 Comments

  1. Merging Rutgers Camden into Rowan will devalue the undergraduate degree that I earned there many years ago. The Rutgers name and repution is nationally known and respected. The names Rowan and Glassboro State College are not recognized for quality.

    I do not understand why Rowan can not expand without disturbing Rutgers Camden. This seems like another example of north Jersey decision makers ignorance of everything located south of Trenton.

  2. North Jersey decisionmakers and BOSS NORCROSS!!!!

    Chris Christie + the Machine: PERFECT TOGETHER!!!!

  3. George Norcross dropped out of Rutgers-Camden to pursue a life of crime, barely escaped justice because Christie turned the case over to Norcross crony Peter Harvey (which Christie now says he regrets), and now Norcross is taking over Rutgers-Camden so it can be part of Rowan University and Cooper Hospital, the board of which he chairs.

    Epic fail on every level. Christie is killing his own credibility with this.

  4. Overall, I am saddened that all of the hard work, charity, good times, and stressful times will be taken away. I thought it would be nice to visit Rutgers-Camden and reminisce one day when I am old and useless. Above all, I feel bad for the "tenured" professors. I hope this R2Rmerge movement is successful.

    -Matt

    South Jersey Marketing

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