Federal review sought of Rutgers-Rowan merger

U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.) on Monday urged federal officials to review the proposed merger between Rutgers-Camden and Rowan University, questioning whether a deal had been "crafted to benefit powerful political interests without regard for the impact on students."

In his letter to U.S. Secretary Arne Duncan and the U.S. Attorney's Office, Lautenberg expressed concern about the merger's impact on thousands of students receiving federal financial aid.

The letter did not name the "political interests" involved, beyond Gov. Christie. Other prominent merger supporters include South Jersey Democratic power broker George E. Norcross III, his brother, State Sen. Donald Norcross (D. Camden) and Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester).

Various realignments of New Jersey's colleges and universities have been proposed over the last decade, but the merger of Rutgers-Camden into Rowan has prompted protests from faculty, students and alumni at the Camden campus, and to some degree, within the larger Rutgers system.

Christie has remained adamant that the proposal, drawn up by a governor's task force led by biotech executive Sol J. Barer, go forward by July 1.

Lautenberg's public correspondence Monday specifically questioned whether the merger is being proposed to benefit Cooper University Hospital, of which George Norcross is chairman. Cooper and Rowan have partnered to open a medical school in the fall.

The governor's office dismissed Lautenberg's allegations.

"The intention of the merger plan is to create medical and research centers of excellence," spokesman Michael Drewniak wrote in an e-mail. "Sen. Lautenberg has apparently chosen not to be a positive participant . . . and instead is engaging in over-the-top correspondence like this full of unsupported innuendo and political vindictiveness."

Lautenberg, 88, who is serving his fifth Senate term, has been at odds with both George Norcross and Christie for years.

In 2010, Christie told New York Magazine, "I don't really care what Frank Lautenberg has to say about much of anything," after the senator criticized his decision to kill a $8.7 billion railroad tunnel project connecting North Jersey and New York City.

And in 2008, Lautenberg was enraged when George Norcross supported U.S. Rep. Robert Andrews (D., Camden) in an unsuccessful campaign to unseat the senator, who has been in office since the early 1980s.

Lautenberg is asking Duncan to look into the merger on the grounds that students attending Rutgers-Camden could face higher costs attending Rowan University.

Annual tuition and fees at the two schools are within $750 of each other, but according to Lautenberg's office, students at Rowan pay on average $5,000 to $8,000 more when factoring in financial aid - based on federal education data.

This "may lead to to increased rates of student borrowing" and for who those who cannot "afford the higher price tag," the possible need to "reconsider their education choices," Lautenberg wrote.

Joe Cardona, a spokesman for Rowan, said that calculation was based on old data.

"We're putting $2 million more into financial aid now than we did two years ago," he said. "We've worked to keep our tuition down."

Lautenberg also addressed a theory that has been gaining momentum among Rutgers faculty, that the merger was a means to "alleviate" Cooper University Hospital's poor credit rating; it's one level above junk status.

There is no indication were the merger to go through that Cooper, the region's largest hospital, would become part of the new institution. But Lautenberg suggests that just being affiliated with a larger research university would mean more revenues through medical school tuition and research dollars.

Norcross did not respond directly to an e-mail for comment. But Cooper Chief Executive Officer John Sheridan Jr. dismissed Lautenberg's letter as "outrageous."

"The reasons for the proposed merger of Rutgers-Camden and Rowan have nothing to do with the funding of the medical school but have everything to do with correcting an imbalance that exists in higher education in South Jersey," he wrote.

Contact staff writer James Osborne at 856-779-3876 or jaosborne@phillynews.com.