During his fifth Annual Address to the University Community, President Richard L. McCormick introduced a new program for young scholars from Rutgers’ neighboring communities, emphasized the university’s initiatives in climate change research, anticipated improvements to the physical space of all Rutgers’ campuses, and touched upon several other priorities Rutgers will face in the coming year.
McCormick began his address by thanking Sam Rabinowitz, chair of the University Senate, which devotes its first meeting of the academic year to the annual address. McCormick then ticked off some of Rutgers’ most recent accomplishments: a 65 percent increase in visits to Rutgers by prospective students, a 61 percent increase in licensing income generated by faculty entrepreneurship, as well as the surpassing the $100 million mark in annual fundraising.
“These are all positive reflections of a robust and growing university,” McCormick said.
He stressed the importance of universities, and the voices of college students, during a critical time of global pressure and change. “Today we are struggling with global issues – such as climate change, human migration, the delivery of health care, and the challenges of the global economy – that are tremendously complex and will not succumb to simple solutions,” he said.
McCormick said faculty at Rutgers will approach the problem from a perspective that merges natural sciences, social sciences and humanities, while combining fundamental and applied research. During his speech, McCormick recognized Professors Anthony Broccoli, Paul Falkowski, and Jennifer Francis, key researchers in identifying research directions and promoting scientific and technological advances.
McCormick also announced the Rutgers Future Scholars Program, a pilot program aimed at reaching minority and low-income students who “might otherwise never consider college within their grasp.”
Rutgers will work with the Camden, Newark, New Brunswick, and Piscataway school districts each year to identify a cohort of top eighth-graders from each and guarantee free tuition and fees when they are admitted to the university. McCormick promised that Rutgers’ relationship with the Future Scholars will be ongoing and long term.
Students in the program will receive such ancillary support as college preparation and college entrance exam workshops and a summer on-campus experience to introduce them to a variety of academic programs.
“As they proceed through high school, we will give them all the support and encouragement we can,” McCormick said. “Vice President Courtney McAnuff has my thanks for his leadership in developing this program, which we will begin next year.”
The physical appearance of Rutgers campuses figured prominently into McCormick’s remarks. He told the audience of more than 500 that improvements to the College Avenue Campus would start next year, and unveiled a new vision for the Livingston Campus as a professional education center.
“Making our campuses more inviting helps advance the goal I have stressed today, preparing our students for the challenges and complexities of the new century. This is true in Newark, which is fast becoming a residential campus that both contributes to the city’s vitality and learns from it. The new residence hall there is filled to capacity with a waiting list. In Camden, a new law school facility is rising, the gym is getting a sorely needed renovation, and a beautiful public art project called Gateway will make the campus more welcoming,” McCormick said. He also pledged to dedicate $15 million to sorely needed classroom renovation.
McCormick acknowledged that his bold plans would require money – which, coming from the state of New Jersey, has been tight in recent years. In order to fund Rutgers’ highest priorities, McCormick said the university would stress the following over the next year:
- Finding efficiencies in energy savings and other areas in the budget
- Improving relations with alumni to boost support
- Working with faculty to increase competitive grants and advocate support for Rutgers
- Embarking on Rutgers’ largest capital campaign ever to raise funds from private donors, corporations, and foundations