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Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (also known as Rutgers University), is the largest institution for higher education in the State of New Jersey. The university's primary campus is located in the cities of New Brunswick and Piscataway, with two smaller campuses in Newark and Camden. Rutgers offers more than 100 distinct bachelor, 100 master, and 80 doctoral and professional degree programs across 29 degree-granting schools and colleges, 16 of which offer graduate programs of study. Rutgers is the eighth-oldest institution of higher learning established in the United States, originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. While originally a Dutch Reformed Church-affiliated institution, it is now a nonsectarian public university and makes no religious demands on its students. Along with the College of William and Mary, Rutgers is one of two colonial colleges which later became public universities. Rutgers was designated the State University of New Jersey by acts of the New Jersey Legislature in 1945 and 1956. The University of Newark merged with Rutgers in 1946, expanding the school to include the current campus in Newark. The College of South Jersey, which became the Camden campus, merged in 1950.
__TOC__ About Rutgers University
Governance Governance at Rutgers University rests with a Board of Trustees consisting currently of 59 members, and a Board of Governors consisting of 11 members: six appointed by the Governor of New Jersey and five chosen by the Board of Trustees. The trustees constitute chiefly an advisory body to the Board of Governors, and are responsible as the fiduciary overseers of the property and assets of the University that existed before the institution became the State University of New Jersey in 1945. Initially, the reluctance of the trustees (still acting as a private corporate body) to cede control of certain business affairs to the state government for direction and oversight caused the state to establish the Board of Governors in 1956. Today, the Board of Governors maintains much of the corporate control of the University. The members of the Board of Trustees are combined from the following representation: "Two faculty and two students are elected by the University Senate as nonvoting representatives. The 59 voting members are chosen in the following way as mandated by state law: 28 charter members (of whom at least three shall be women), 20 alumni members nominated by the Nominating Committee of the Board of Trustees, and five public members appointed by the governor of the state with confirmation by the New Jersey State Senate. The six members of the Board of Governors appointed by the governor also serve as members of the Board of Trustees. Of the 28 charter seats, three are reserved for students with full voting rights." The president of Rutgers University, chosen by the Trustees and Governors, sits as an ex-officio member of both governing boards and does not possess a vote. The President of Rutgers University is Richard Levis McCormick. Campuses and organization Rutgers University has three campuses across the state of New Jersey, with its main campus located in New Brunswick and Piscataway, and two smaller campuses in the cities of Newark and Camden. These campuses are comprised of 29 degree-granting schools and colleges, offering undergraduate, graduate and professional levels of study. Rutgers is centrally administered from New Brunswick, although Provosts at the Newark and Camden campuses hold significant autonomy for some academic issues. The New Brunswick-Piscataway Campus or the main campus, is spread across six municipalities in Middlesex County, New Jersey, chiefly centered in New Brunswick and Piscataway townships (but with small portions in Edison, East Brunswick and North Brunswick townships, and the Borough of Highland Park). It consists of 16 undergraduate, graduate and professional schools, including: Cook College, Douglass College, Livingston College, Rutgers College, University College, Graduate College, College of Nursing, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, Graduate School of Education, Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers Business School, School of Communication, Information and Library Studies, School of Engineering, School of Management and Labor Relations, School of Social Work. As of 2006, 26,713 undergraduates and 7,736 graduate students (total 34,449) are enrolled at the New Brunswick-Piscataway campus. Initially, several of the undergraduate residential colleges (Rutgers, Cook, Douglass, Livingston and University Colleges) on the New Brunswick-Piscataway campus were designed to be autonomous, possessing their own faculties, curricula, and admissions requirements. In 1982, a move by the administration to decentralize the faculty, while heavily protested, was successful. However, the redundancy of bureaucracies and differing graduation and admissions requirements that remained between the residential colleges was identified as the source of much red tape and confusion.Transforming Undergraduate Education accessed 10 September 2006.
Admissions US News and World Report considers the New Brunswick-Piscataway campus of Rutgers University to be a "more selective" school in terms of the rigour of its admissions processes. 61% of undergraduate applicants are accepted. In comparison, 62% of applicants to nearby Pennsylvania State University (for the University Park campus) and 47% of applicants to the University of Delaware are accepted. Average ranges for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores of enrolling students at Rutgers range from 530-630 on the verbal section and 560-670 mathematics section. When compared to similar universities located nearby, Pennsylvania State University average ranges span from 530-630 on the verbal section and 570-670 on the math section, and the University of Delaware's student body average range is 550-640 verbal and 560-660 math. Financial Aid
Undergraduate programs Graduate and professional programs Rutgers offers more than 100 master’s and 80 doctoral and professional degree programs to 12,203 students on the New Brunswick, Newark, and Camden campuses. In New Brunswick, 7,299 students are pursuing advanced degrees within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences or at Schools of Arts, Engineering, Pharmacy, Education, Planning and Public Policy, Psychology, Communication, Information and Library Studies, Management and Labor Relations, or Social Work. In Newark, 3,484 are studying within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences or at Schools of Nursing, Management, Criminal Justice and Law. In Camden, 1,420 students are pursuing degrees within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences or at Schools of Business or Law. Faculty For the August 2005 to May 2006 academic year. Rutgers University had 2,261 full-time and part-time academic faculty members. Among Rutgers notable former professors are John Ciardi, George H. Cook, Michael Curtis, Ralph Ellison, Paul Fussell, Francis Fergusson, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Mason W. Gross, Leonid Khachiyan, David Levering Lewis, Roy Lichtenstein, George Segal and Selman Waksman. During his 20 year tenure at Rutgers, David Levering Lewis (b. 1936), a professor in the Department of History was twice awarded the Pultizer Prize for Biography or Autobiography (1994 and 2001) for both volumes of his biography of W.E.B. DuBois (1868-1963) and was also the winner of the Bancroft and Parkman prizes. Five Nobel laureates have been affiliated with Rutgers as either faculty or students (Milton Friedman, Toni Morrison, David A. Morse, Heinrich Rohrer and Selman Waksman). Many members of the faculty at Rutgers have achieved top honors in their disciplines, including Michael R. Douglas, a prominent string theorist and the director of the New High Energy Theory Center and winner of the Sackler Prize in theoretical physics in 2000. Jerry Fodor, a professor of Philosophy and Cognitive Science since 1988, was awarded the Jean Nicod Prize. Research Rutgers has had a long history of innovation and discovery. It was at Rutgers that Selman Waksman (1888-1973) discovered several antibiotics, including actinomycin, clavacin, streptothricin, grisein, neomycin, fradicin, candicidin, candidin, and others. Waksman, along with graduate student Albert Schatz (1920-2005), discovered streptomycin—a versatile antibiotic that was to be the first applied to cure tuberculosis. For this discovery, Waksman received the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1952. Rutgers continues to be on the frontlines of science and innovation, and has given birth to discoveries and inventions such as water-soluble sustained release polymers, Tetraploids, robotic hands, artificial bovine insemination, and development of the ceramic tiles for the heat shield on the Space Shuttle. In health related field, Rutgers has the Environmental & Occupational Health Science Institute (EOHSI, /YO-shi/). Libraries and Museums The Rutgers University library system consists of 26 libraries and centers located on the University's three campuses, housing a collection of over 10.5 million holdings, including 3,522,359 volumes, 4,517,726 microforms, 2,544,126 documents, and subscriptions to 42,875 periodicals, and ranking among the nation's top research libraries. The American Library Association ranks the Rutgers University Library system as the 44th largest library in the United States in terms of volumes held. The Archibald S. Alexander Library, in New Brunswick, houses several million volumes focusing on an extensive humanities and social science collection. The Library of Science and Medicine on the Busch Campus in Piscataway houses the University's collection in behavioral, biological, earth, and pharmaceutical sciences and engineering. On the New Brunswick-Piscataway campus, in addition to Alexander Library, many individual disciplines have their own libraries, including alcohol studies, art history, Chemistry, East Asian studies, Mathematical studies, Music, and Physics. Special Collections and University Archives houses the Sinclair New Jersey Collection, manuscript collection, and rare book collection, as well as the University Archives. Although located in the Alexander Library building, Special Collections and University Archives actually comprises a distinct unit unto itself. Another distinc library that is also located within the Alexander Library building is the East Asian Library which holds a sizable collection of Chinese monographs and periodicals. In addition, EAL also has a smaller collection of Japanese monographs and some Korean collection. Though located in Alexander Library building, EAL has had its own librarian and staff since its conception. However, it is currently being considered to merge EAL in to Alexander Library as an East Asian Collection department due to the severe budget cut to Rutgers's libraries in 2006. In Newark, the John Cotton Dana Library (which also houses the Institute of Jazz Studies) and the Robeson Library in Camden, serve their respective campuses with a broad collection of volumes. The Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, on the College Avenue Campus in New Brunswick, maintains a collection of over 50,000 works of art, focusing on Russian and Soviet art, French 19th-century art and American 19th- and 20th-century art with a concentration on early-20th-century and contemporary prints. The Rutgers University Geology Museum—located in Geology Hall next to the Old Queens Building—features exhibits on geology and anthropology, with an emphasis on the natural history of New Jersey. The largest exhibits include a dinosaur trackway from Towaco, New Jersey; a mastodon from Salem County; and a Ptolomaic era Egyptian mummy. The New Jersey Museum of Agriculture is located on the campus of Cook College and houses an extensive collection of agricultural, scientific and household tools that spans 350 years of New Jersey's history. The bulk of the collection rests on the 8,000 item Wabun C. Krueger Collection of Agricultural, Household, and Scientific Artifacts, and over 30,000 glass negatives and historic photographs. Rutgers Gardens, located on the university's Cook campus, offers 50 acres (20 hectares) of horticultural, display, and botanical gardens, as well as arboretums. Rankings Many Rutgers departments are nationally and internationally recognized for important scholarly contributions and the quality of education received by students at undergraduate and graduate levels. Eleven of Rutgers' graduate departments are ranked by the National Research Council in the top 25 among all universities: Philosophy (13th), Geography (13th), Statistics (17th), English (17th), Mathematics (19th), Art History (20th), Physics (20th), History (20th) Comparative Literature (22nd), French (22nd), and Materials Science Engineering (25th). Also in the 2006 U.S. News & World Report ranking of Comuputer Science Ph.D. programs, Rutgers was ranked 29th. Rutgers University was ranked 43rd worldwide and 35th within the United States in the 2005 survey entitled Academic Ranking of World Universities by Shanghai Jiao Tong University of the world's best universities, comparing universities by multiple numerical criteria, including faculty publications in peer-reviewed journals, the number of faculty and alumni with such honours as the Nobel Prizes, Fields Medals, and other awards. According to the Washington Monthly's 2006 rankings, Rutgers ranks 53rd in the United States. The Top American Research Universities an annual statistical report by The Center at the University of Florida ranks Rutgers 39th. Early history and conception
Queens College
Under the Rutgers name A nationwide economic depression, combined with impending war, forced Queen's College to close down a second time, in 1812. In 1825, Queen's College was reopened, and its name was changed to "Rutgers College" in honor of American Revolutionary War hero Colonel Henry Rutgers (1745–1830). According to the Board of Trustees, Colonel Rutgers was honored because he epitomized Christian values, although it should be noted the Colonel was a wealthy bachelor known for his philanthropy. A year after the school renamed itself, it received 2 donations from its namesake. Rutgers, a descendant of an old Dutch family that had settled in New Amsterdam (now New York City), gave the fledgling college a $200 bell that hangs from the cupola of the Old Queen's building; then later in 1826 he donated the interest on a $5,000 bond. This second donation finally gave the college the sound financial footing it had sorely needed. The college's early troubles inspired numerous student songs, including an adaptation of the drinking song Down Among the Dead Men, with the lyrics "Here's a toast to old Rutgers, loyal men/May she ne'er go down but to rise again." Rutgers College became the land-grant college of New Jersey in 1864 under the Morrill Act of 1862, resulting in the establishment of the Rutgers Scientific School, featuring departments of agriculture, engineering, and chemistry. Further expansion in the sciences came with the founding of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station in 1880 and the division of the Rutgers Scientific School into the College of Engineering (now the School of Engineering) in 1914 and the College of Agriculture (now Cook College) in 1921. The precursors to several other Rutgers divisions were also established during this period: the College of Pharmacy (now the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy) in 1892, the New Jersey College for Women (now Douglass College) in 1918, and the School of Education in 1924. Later, University College, founded to serve part-time, commuting students and Livingston College, emphasizing the urban experience, were created. The first Summer Session began in 1913 with one six-week session. That summer program offered 47 courses and had an enrollment of 314 students. Currently, Summer Session offers over 1,000 courses to more than 15,000 students on the Camden, Newark, and New Brunswick/Piscataway campuses, off-campus, and abroad. Rutgers College was renamed Rutgers University in 1924. New Jerseys flagship university Rutgers was designated the State University of New Jersey by acts of the New Jersey Legislature in 1945 and 1956.N.J.S.A. 18A:65-1 et seq. (Public Law 1956, chapter 61) repealing and succeeding P.L. 1945, c.49, p.115. accessed 8 August 2006. Before the 1956 law went into effect, the Board of Trustees voted to divest itself of the Rutgers Preparatory School, which became fully independent in 1957 and relocated to a campus on the Wells Estate (purchased from the Colgate-Palmolive Company) in nearby Somerset, New Jersey. Under the 1956 law, Rutgers was to be governed both by its Board of Trustees, chiefly an advisory body, charged also with maintaining the assets of the college and its continuity from the 1766 charter, as well as a Board of Governors consisting of eleven members: five members selected by the Board of Trustees, and six appointed by the Governor of New Jersey. Since the 1950s, Rutgers has continued to expand, especially in the area of graduate education. The Graduate School-New Brunswick, and professional schools have been established in such areas as business, management, public policy, social work, applied and professional psychology, the fine arts, and communication, information and library studies.Graduate Schools, Rutgers University, Retrieved on 6 August 2006]] (A number of these schools offer undergraduate programs as well.) In both 1947 and 1966, the College Avenue Gymnasium—built on the site of the first intercollegiate football game—hosted New Jersey's Constitutional Conventions. A nationwide trend, caused mostly out of the civil rights and women's rights movements, caused many male-only colleges to alter their admissions policies to accept women and thus become coeducational. Rutgers, along with many of the older American institutions (including Princeton and Yale) became co-educational in the 1960s and 1970s. On September 10, 1970, after several years of debate and planning, the Board of Governors voted to admit women into the previously all-male Rutgers College. Today, Douglass College (originally the New Jersey College for Women) remains all-female, while the rest of the University is coeducational. In 2002, former Governor James E. McGreevey appointed a committee chaired by P. Roy Vagelos to explore the possibility of merging Rutgers University with the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ). While this committee's report advocated such a merger, citing benefits such as increased power in applying for and receiving funds from medical, scientific and techological grant programs and corporate investment, this plan was unpopular with alumni, students, and faculty at these institutions and was misunderstood by the residents of New Jersey who were to vote on the proposal. Under mounting political pressure, Governor McGreevey withdrew plans for the merger. As of 2006, Governor Jon Corzine has expressed interest in renewing the plan. Presidents of Rutgers University Atmosphere Rutgers University's three campuses are located in culturally-diverse, redeveloping urban areas (Newark, Camden, and New Brunswick) with an ease of access to New York City and Philadelphia by either automobile, Amtrak or New Jersey Transit. US News & World Report ranked Rutgers-Newark the most diverse university campus in the United States. Because the area of Rutgers' New Brunswick-Piscataway campus—which is comprised of several constituent colleges and professional schools—is sprawled across six municipalities), the individual campuses are connected by an inter-campus bus system. Student organizations Rutgers hosts over 700 student organizations, covering a wide range of interests. Governed by the Student Activities Council, and funded by student fees disbursed by student government associations, students can organize groups for practically any political ideology or issue, ethnic or religious affiliation, academic subject, activity, or hobby. Notable student groups include the Daily Targum, one of the oldest collegiate newspaper in the United States, established in 1869, the Rutgers Centurion a conservative newspaper, the Philoclean Society, a literary society with origins dating back to 1825, the Rutgers University Glee Club, a male choral singing group established in 1872 among the oldest in the country, as well as the Rutgers University Debate Union. Greek life Rutgers University is home to chapters of many Greek organizations, and a significant percentage of the undergraduate student body is active in Greek life. Several fraternities and sororities maintain houses for their chapters in the area of Union Street (known familiarly as "Frat Row") in New Brunswick, within blocks of Rutgers' College Avenue Campus. Chapters of Zeta Psi and Delta Phi organized at Rutgers as early as 1845. There are over 50 fraternities and sororities on the New Brunswick-Piscataway campus, ranging from traditional to historically African-American, Hispanic, Multicultural, and Asian-interest organizations. Greek organizations are governed by the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs. Twelve organizations maintain chapters in New Brunswick without sanction by the University's administration. Housing Rutgers University offers a variety of housing options. On the New Brunswick-Piscataway campus, students are given the option of on-campus housing in both traditional dorms or apartments. Despite some overcrowding, any student seeking on-campus housing will usually be accommodated with a space. Many Rutgers student opt to rent apartments or houses off-campus within the city of New Brunswick. Similar setups are to be found in Rutgers-Newark and Rutgers-Camden, however a large portion of those campuses are comprised of students who commute, and are enrolled on a part-time basis. Mascot, school colors, and symbols In its early days, Rutgers athletes were known as "Queensmen" in reference to the institution's first name, Queen's College. However, in 1925, the mascot was changed to Chanticleer, a fighting rooster from the medieval fable Reynard the Fox (Le Roman de Renart) which was used by Geoffrey Chaucer's in the Canterbury Tales. However, this mascot was often the subject of ridicule because of its association with "being chicken." In 1955, the mascot was changed to the Scarlet Knight after a campus-wide election. The names (and mascots) of the athletic teams at Rutgers-Newark and Rutgers-Camden are the "Scarlet Raiders" and the "Scarlet Raptors," respectively. Initially, students sought to make orange the school color, citing Rutgers' Dutch heritage and in reference to the Prince of Orange. The Daily Targum first proposed that scarlet be adopted in May 1869, claiming that it was a striking color and because scarlet ribbon was easily obtained. During the first intercollegiate football game with Princeton on 6 November 1869, the players from Rutgers wore scarlet-colored turbans and handkerchiefs to distinguish them as a team from the Princeton players. The Board of Trustees officially made scarlet the school color in 1900. Rutgers' motto, Sol iustitiae et occidentem illustra (translated as "Sun of righteousness, shine upon the West also") is derived from the motto of the University of Utrecht in The Netherlands, which is Sol Iustitiae Illustra Nos (translated as "Sun of Justice, shine upon us"). It is a reference to the biblical texts of Malachi 4:2 and Matthew 13:43.King James Bible, Book of Malachi, Chapter 4 verse 2: "But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall." and King James Bible, Gospel According to St. Matthew, Chapter 13, verse 43: "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." This motto appears in the University's seal (pictured above), which is also derived from that of the University of Utrecht, and depicts a multi-pointed sun.Presidential Inauguration: Inauguration Pageantry and Color accessed 9 September 2006. Alma Mater The alma mater of Rutgers University is the song entitled On the Banks of the Old Raritan, written by Howard Fullerton (Class of 1874) in 1873. It is often sung at University occasions, including concerts of the Rutgers University Glee Club, at Convocation and Commencement exercises, and especially at the conclusion of athletic events. The Cannon War
Around Campus Fenton B. Turck, a New York physician and biologist, with the assistance of railroad magnate, and longtime Rutgers trustee Leonor F. Loree (RC 1877), anonymously donated a statue of Prince William the Silent (1533-1584) of the House of Nassau and later Prince of Orange, who was the leader of the Dutch rebellion against the Spanish that set off the Eighty Years' War and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1648. Turck, of Dutch extraction, intended to give the statue known familiarly as "Silent Willie" to the University to signify the institution's Dutch roots. He kept the statue in the basement of his laboratory in Manhattan for eight years before it was unveiled on the Voorhees Mall on 9 June 1928. Allegedly, the statue is said to whistle when a virgin passes by. So far, Prince William has remained silent. This statute is a rough replica of a that stands in The Hague. Between the Cook and Douglass campuses is a location known as Passion Puddle. Superstition holds that if a male student from Cook College and a female student from Douglass College hold hands and walk around the water three times they will be married. Commencement At Commencement exercises in the Spring, tradition leads undergraduates to break clay pipes over the Class of 1877 Cannon monument in front of Old Queens, symbolizing the breaking of ties with the college, and leaving behind the good times of one's undergraduate years. This symbolic gesture dates back to when pipe-smoking was fashionable among undergraduates, and many college memories were of evenings of pipe smoking and revelry with friends. During commencement exercises, graduating seniors walk in academic procession under the Class of 1902 Memorial Gateway (erected in 1904) on Hamilton Street leading to the Voorhees Mall where the ceremonies are held for Rutgers College. Traditionally, students are warned to avoid walking beneath the gate before commencement over a superstition that one who does will not graduate. In History
Today Today, Rutgers is a member of the Big East Conference, (in football since 1991, all other sports since 1995) a collegiate athletic conference consisting of 16 colleges and universities from the East Coast and Midwestern regions of the United States. The Big East is a member of the Bowl Championship Series. Rutgers currently fields 27 intercollegiate sports programs and is a Division I-A school as sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Since joining the Big East, the Scarlet Knights have won two conference tournament titles: men's soccer (1997) and baseball (2000). Several other teams have won regular season titles but failed to win the conference's championship tournament.• The Rutgers-Newark and Rutgers-Camden campuses compete within NCAA Division III. Today, Rutgers University fields thirty teams in NCAA Division I-A sanctioned sports, including Football, Baseball, Basketball, Crew, Cross Country, Fencing, Field Hockey, Golf, Gymnastics, Lacrosse, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, Track and Field, Swimming and Diving, Wrestling, Volleyball. In 2005, Rutgers accepted a bowl bid to play Arizona State University in the Insight Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona. The Scarlet Knights lost to the ASU Sun Devils with a score of 45 to 40. The only other bowl appearance for the Scarlet Knights was in 1978 at the now defunct Garden State Bowl, held at Giants Stadium, also against Arizona State; Rutgers lost that game as well by a score of 34 to 18. On September 24, 2006, a 4-0 Rutgers football team was ranked 23rd in both major college football polls, the first time rutgers had been ranked nationally in 30 years since the end of their undefeated 1976 season (11-0). As of the polls released on October 30, 2006, 8-0 Rutgers was ranked 15th in both major polls, and 12th in the Bowl Championship Series standings. New Brunswick/Piscataway
Newark Rutgers-Newark fields teams for NCAA Division III competition in Men's and Women's Soccer, Basketball, Tennis, Volleyball (women), Baseball (men) and Softball (women). The Men's Volleyball team is the only NCAA Division I sport on the campus. Their teams are known as the "Scarlet Raiders." Built in 1977, the Golden Dome Athletic Center is the hub of Rutgers-Newark athletics, seating 2,000. Soccer and softball games are held on Alumni Field, while the Rutgers-Newark baseball team plays at Riverfront Stadium, a 6,200-seat ballpark that is home to the Newark Bears, a minor-league professional baseball franchise. Camden Rutgers-Camden fields teams for NCAA Division III competition in Men's and Women's Crew, Cross Country, Golf, Soccer, Volleyball, Basketball, Indoor Track, Baseball (men), Softball (women), and Track and Field. In 2006, Rutgers-Camden won the NCAA Division III Softball championship, defeating two-time defending champion St. Thomas, 3-2 to capture the school's first national title. Rutgers-Camden basketball also holds the unfortunate distinction of the longest losing streak in college basketball, set in 1997. The team was disbanded, but student outcry lead to a re-instatement. Then Athletic Director "Pony" Wilson coached the team to its first win in 117 games over Iona College. Though yet to post a winning season, the team has returned somewhat to respectability. Controversy and debate Rutgers efforts to upgrade the quality of its football program have raised criticism of several alumni, faculty and students regarding the size of athletic department's budget, wishing to divert its funds elsewhere. The athletic department's budget is $35.5 million compared to a $1.6 billion budget for the entire university. A large portion of the athletics budget comes from mandatory student fees enacted in recent years. The rest comes from self-generating revenue (ticket sales, merchandise, broadcast rights) and from the general university budget. Critics claim that the focus on Division I-A athletics lowers admissions and academic standards. However, at 980, Rutgers team had the third-highest Academic Performance Rate (APR) score of any Division I-A football team in 2005. Critics also claim that off-the-field criminal incidents will damage the university's reputation, believing that big-time athletics inevitably fosters corruption. These concerns have not been empirically tested, and incidents have been less frequent at Rutgers than at other major state universities. A final complaint was that the upgraded football schedule would prevent competing against long standing rivals Princeton, Columbia, Lehigh, and Lafayette. However, supporters of the move claim it would make Rutgers more comparable to large, prestigious state universities such as the University of Michigan and University of California and private institutions such as Stanford University which have been touted for balancing their academic reputation with athletic success. William C. Dowling, a University Professor in the Department of English, and a few other like-minded faculty, students and alumni organized a group known as "Rutgers 1000" in 1993, favoring downgrading the school's football team to Division I-AA. This group disbanded in 2003 after Professor Dowling expressed dismay at President Richard McCormick's decision to continue supporting the athletic program. Trivia Points of Interest See also Notes and Citations Books and other background resources | |||||||||||||||||||||
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