In one of those fascinating documents that reveals what lies behind plans for a takeover of Rutgers-Camden, let me draw your attention to what Rowan University says about the process. It’s chilling reading for those who oppose the effort, not the least the promise that lies at the core of the document:

“While the future no doubt will include many hurdles as the merger moves forward, its success will not be determined by the track record of one institution, but rather the work and commitment of the current Rutgers-Camden employees and students working with Rowan employees and students to develop the new university.

The question should not be whether Rowan is capable of handling the merger, but whether the two institutions can come together to develop an institution that has the potential to transform the region.”

So states the Rowan University web site in explaining the steps it envisions for taking over the Camden Campus, as proposed by the Barer Committee on the future of medical education in New Jersey. It’s a curious statement, not the least because Rowan proclaims that “2016-17 will be the first year of the fully integrated institution and fully integrated curricula.” Four years, and bam! we’ve got a new university. Strikingly, the website and its extended rationale was developed and published without any input whatsoever from those Rutgers employees and students who are called upon to make it happen.

This has been the pattern from day one. Rowan provided assurances to its students that they would benefit from a merger with Rutgers-Camden even before the Barer Committee met with the Rutgers-Camden Chancellor to get his input to the report.  Now, even before a vote by Rutgers University’s Board of Governors and Board of Trustees whether or not to accept any or all of the Barer report, Rowan has the path all laid out. What are they thinking?

Well, first they see some extra bodies to rely on.  Noting that under current plans for growth “faculty and staff already are stretched thin,” Rowan turns to Rutgers, which offers the additional benefit of funds expected to flow from the Camden campus. In their words, “there will be initial and long-term costs, but administrators anticipate that a portion of the cost will come from funds that are no longer sent from the Rutgers-Camden campus to support Rutgers-New Brunswick operations.” Indeed. And for what purposes? Certainly not to replace the library or other resources that would be lost when the central Rutgers administration cut its Camden campus loose.

And what about poor Camden?  Echoing a grossly inflated picture of a revived city advanced by proponents of the takeover, the Rowan website proclaims, “The merged institution also will be a magnet for entrepreneurship, grants and philanthropy and ultimately will create a vibrant 12-month campus for both host communities that will spur economic and cultural activity.”  Noting that the Glassboro campus can only accommodate another 1000 or so students, the Rowan website describes growth, to about 25,000 students, not in Camden but on line and off campus (presumably off its own campus) with the help of the “critical mass of additional faculty and staff” it expects to appropriate from the Rutgers campus.

While those faculty, or at least some of them, could be willing to participate in on-line courses, that’s not exactly what would be expected as the first task of scholars already recognized at the top of their fields. Indeed, the Rowan website acknowledges, the difficulty of personnel issues  such as faculty workloads, benefits, salaries and tenure. It notes breezily, enough, however, that “faculty and staff who have been employed, evaluated and (in the case of faculty) tenured under an existing set of criteria will not have expectations changed mid-stream.” What that means exactly in terms of the criteria that will prevail in a new institution, we can’t say. To suggest, however, that those at Rutgers should not have their expectations changed mid-stream defies reason. We presume the message is directed only at Rowan faculty and their hopes that they won’t have to be judged by any different standard.

Last but not least, consider Rowan’s pledge that transition planning “will be inclusive and transparent.” To that end, their Rutgers-Camden “partners” may be dismayed to learn that the process has started without them, as Rowan reports “with a merger planning team comprising cabinet members, deans, key managers, the presidents of the Senate and AFT, and select faculty and staff to discuss what it will take to make the merger successful.” “If the merger receives final approval,” the site asserts, “transition teams made up of Rutgers-Camden and Rowan employees will form at every level to tackle the myriad issues and propose changes to an expanded Rowan Board of Trustees.” At least that part opens up to Rutgers-Camden participation.

Let’s be honest here. Camden has been taken over before, by the state from 2002 to 2009. City residents had little input to that decision, and the city as a whole remains impoverished and dependent on outside resources. Now, one of its key anchor institutions has been slated for takeover too. We might expect nothing more than a gloss of presumed benevolence from those who would benefit most. But Rutgers-Camden is a vibrant institution, poised to lead the renaissance of the city, and it should not become the victim of another shell game in the name of some fantasy of greater progress. We’ll return to this subject in greater depth soon. Meanwhile, if you like what Rowan offers in the way of a partnership, I want you to buy a share in the colony Newt Gingrich envisions on the moon. You can expect about the same rate of return.