Last week, Christie announced his plan to makeover the state's higher-education system. His plan involves combining Rutgers, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and Rowan, in the hopes of creating one of the top public universities in the country. Rutgers has campuses in Newark, Brunswick, and Camden. Rowan University is based in Glassboro. Christie's plan would also include creating a ‘split' campus that would house a law school, two business schools, and not yet launched Rowan-Cooper Medical School in Camden. Overall, the high level concept is to launch a research university that would increase the number of higher-education seats in the region, which historically, have been low, as well as create an institution of higher learning that would attract the attention and investment of biotech and pharmaceutical companies.
Since Christie dropped the bomb, hundreds of students, alumni and faculty alike have protested the move. As part of the protest, students planned to travel to Trenton next week when the state Senate Committee on Higher Education will hear testimony on the proposal. As well, alumni were setting up a meeting with George E. Norcross III, the Democratic leader and chairman of Cooper University Hospital; he has endorsed the merger.
Rutgers University in Camden, New Jersey is a state-funded public research university. Its law school in particular boasts a prestigious reputation around the globe. The university as a whole is consistently ranked among the top three public universities in the northeast. Rutgers School of Law–Camden is a public law school of Rutgers University. The school is currently ranked 84th among the Top 100 law schools in the 2011 edition of U.S. News & World Report's “Best Graduate Schools”. As well, it is ranked 11th in the nation for legal writing and is tier 1 among law schools.
Other attempts have been made to overhaul New Jersey's universities by past governors; none were successful.
A New Jersey native, Christopher Christie is the 55th and current Governor of New Jersey. He was elected in November 2009. He previously served as United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey and as a Morris County, New Jersey Freeholder.
