A good Rutgers Magazine piece about the law school merger and holodeck
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Camden, thanks for the article. The whole merger makes sense. I just wish both schools could be consolidated and moved to NB. I realize both schools have had major upgrades done to them in recent years, but I always found it very odd that the Flagship campus didn't have the law school there. I know why and I understand the NJ politics. But to not have the school in NB still doesn't make any sense to me. Who knows, maybe in the next decade the move to NB will be under consideration. I for one would welcome it.
What you say makes sense. But the current long-term plan for New Brunswick/Piscataway makes no mention of such a project. I think the reasons may be (1) the politics would be too difficult; and (2) The New Brunswick/Piscataway campus can't handle hundreds of more students given how clogged the roads are already.
I would have to say the former (politics) is driving this bus thus far and not adding additional students on NB campus.
I guess I should add that building a law school in New Brunswick would cost at a minimum $100 million -- that's absolutely rock bottom and wouldn't get a first-class facility. That doesn't include the considerable cost of rehabbing the existing Newark and Camden buildings for other purpose The administration feels that if that kind of money becomes available, there would be higher priorities. Law is just not that big a concern at Rutgers.
The campus has 35,000 students or more. It could certainly handle the addition of a law school from a traffic perspective. Same with space - there are whole unused corners of all four campuses plus downtown NB that could house a decent law school campus.
Its pretty obviously politics and simple school priority - its not a big deal to RU, certainly not big enough to piss off every supporter we have in Newark and Camden, and at a cost of hundreds of millions.
Like I said - if its going to happen it will have to be organic and long term - a few classes in NB for dual degree stuff. Then more classes, and maybe some offices here. Then eventually move the HQ here and the others are branch for say part time students. More or less like the business school.
The plan seems to be to establish a presence in New Brunswick by having an undergraduate legal studies major. While I have been quite dismissive of this idea, I do note that some very fine schools (e.g. Cal-Berkeley) have such programs with heavy involvement by law school faculty. This might be a way of starting out.
What we need is enough faculty from both campuses willing to travel perhaps once a week to New Brunswick for a three-hour class.. I used to go once a month when I was in the university senate, and found it a quite difficult drive -- and I live in Cherry Hill. Getting to NB was only an occasional problem -- but a big one on bad days -- but coming home at 3 p.m. or so was horrible. (Things might be better with the lane expansions on the Turnpike.) And most of my colleagues live in the Pennsylvania suburbs rather than South Jersey, so their commutes would be much more arduous than mine. Not throwing cold water on the idea, just saying it's not as easy as one would hope.
What we need is enough faculty from both campuses willing to travel perhaps once a week to New Brunswick for a three-hour class.. I used to go once a month when I was in the university senate, and found it a quite difficult drive -- and I live in Cherry Hill. Getting to NB was only an occasional problem -- but a big one on bad days -- but coming home at 3 p.m. or so was horrible. (Things might be better with the lane expansions on the Turnpike.) And most of my colleagues live in the Pennsylvania suburbs rather than South Jersey, so their commutes would be much more arduous than mine. Not throwing cold water on the idea, just saying it's not as easy as one would hope.
Oh. I certainly dont think it will be easy. This is basically a 30 year plan (by which point the whole idea of a physical college might be moot.)
Yes, I think people are starting to realize that this is an evolutionary process, and that it will take time before the two parts have a common culture. For instance, Newark's culture is to be very suspicious of the Dean, while Camden has always been the opposite. And I think you're certainly right that it will take a while to build up joint projects in New Brunswick/Piscataway.
