PISCATAWAY, N.J.—Rutgers officially added two medical schools on Monday in a university reconfiguration that officials hope will turn the school into a medical research powerhouse.
The state’s flagship public university absorbed most of the schools and institutes in the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, which was dissolved. Rowan University added the School of Osteopathic Medicine in Stratford and received state recognition as a comprehensive research university. University Hospital in Newark became a free-standing state-owned institution.
The changes took effect at 12:01 a.m. Monday with modified websites and computer systems. Later in the day, there was pageantry on campuses, including unfurling Rutgers banners in a former UMDNJ building in Piscataway.
“It’s going to grow and expand what is already a very, very good university and today I think is finally on the path to being one of America’ great research institutions,” Gov. Chris Christie said.
The idea of reorganizing New Jersey’s public universities has been debated for years, but Christie pushed for it to happen fast. In less than 18 months, his plan went from proposal to reality. Through the process, Rutgers officials and lawmakers pushed for compromises, most notably stopping Rowan from taking control of Rutgers’ Camden campus.
Christie said the only thing that kept his predecessors from making similar changes was politics.
The overarching goal for Rutgers is to remake a university already recognized as a leader in humanities and social sciences into a hub for medical research and to have it work more closely with the pharmaceutical industry seated in New Jersey.
