New Jersey Governor Chris Christie accepted the recommendation by the UMDNJ Task Force Committee to overhaul the state’s university system, including merging Rowan University and Rutgers-Camden campus into one single university with research university designation. This will be the only university in southern New Jersey with this status. Cooper University Hospital is in full support of the recommendations.
The Research University designation will allow Rowan to offer undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs (i.e., Ph.D.), enter into public-private partnerships and increase the institution’s ability to attract greater research funding from such entities as the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation. Combining Rutgers and Rowan will provide opportunities for joint degree programs, such as Law and Medicine (J.D., M.D.).
Cooper’s Chairman, George E. Norcross, III, issued the following statement yesterday: “We are pleased with the recommendations presented by the UMDNJ Advisory Committee to designate a research university in South Jersey through the integration of two long standing institutions of higher learning. This bold plan will transform education in South Jersey and ignite the economy by attracting private investment opportunities, producing greater research funding and significantly increasing the options for New Jersey residents who currently leave the state to pursue higher education degrees.”