At the board

The Rutgers Board of Governors took the following actions at its April 24 meeting:

Saluting the Gates Scholars: Rutgers seniors Michael Hayoun, Suzanne Pilaar, and Brian Spatocco were honored for winning Gates Cambridge Scholarships, a highly competitive scholarship for graduate study at England’s University of Cambridge. Since the board’s resolution, Rutgers senior Ronn Friedlander also was named a Gates Scholar, bringing the number of Rutgers winners to four. Rutgers and Harvard each have four Gates Scholars, more than any other American university.

New academic programs: Following a board resolution, Rutgers–Newark will offer a bachelor of arts degree in public service jointly administered by the School of Public Affairs and Administration and the Newark College of Arts and Sciences. The new program is part of the Newark Campus’s mission to support and develop strong leadership in government and nonprofit organizations. The board also approved the creation of the Department of Supply Chain Management and Marketing Sciences at Rutgers Business School–Newark and New Brunswick. The business school is already an established academic nucleus in this area of study with its Center for Supply Chain Management. The new department serves the crucial need of re-engineering business processes for achieving higher levels of performance, particularly on a global industrial scale.

Campus leaders receive title change: The provosts of the Camden and Newark campuses will now be known as “chancellors” following a resolution by the board. The new title better reflects the existing administrative and oversight functions of the positions, including student life, business management, capital planning and construction, campus security, and physical plant operations, as well as the responsibility for working with local, state, national, and international constituents. A survey by university officials determined that several AAU institutions designated their heads of campus as chancellor. The board also passed a resolution revising university policy to reflect the change.

New alumni association bylaws and constitution passed: The Rutgers University Alumni Association was officially established after the board passed a resolution approving the new organization’s constitution and bylaws. The RUAA was born out of Rutgers President Richard L. McCormick’s Plan for Alumni Relations and represents all of Rutgers’ 330,000 living alumni. The organization will partner with the Department of Alumni Relations to advance Rutgers’ interests by engaging all alumni in every facet of university life.

Honoring women’s basketball: The board passed a resolution celebrating the Rutgers women’s basketball team’s successful 2007–2008 season. The team was ranked No. 6 and No. 7 in the end-of-season ESPN/USA Today and Associated Press polls, respectively. Team members’ record of 27–7 included a nail-biting win over University of Connecticut, and they were just one victory shy in the NCAA Championships of making it to the Final Four. Seniors Matee Ajavon and Essence Carson were both first-round selections in the WNBA draft, the first time two Rutgers women were selected in the first round in the same year.

Protecting Rutgers Gardens from pests: The board declared the gypsy moth a “public nuisance,” a measure necessary in order to participate in New Jersey’s gypsy moth suppression program. The gypsy moth contributes to defoliation of tree and plant growth and has affected Rutgers Gardens, which comprise more than 50 acres of landscapes, and provide educational opportunities for Rutgers students, landscape professionals, and gardeners across the state. The gardens also are a popular destination for public leisure.

Construction matters: The board approved several resolutions concerning upcoming construction projects on Rutgers’ campuses:

• University Visitor Center: A 12,000-square-foot facility on the Busch Campus in Piscataway will be home to Rutgers’ new visitor center. The location will include an information desk, meeting and conference rooms, a multipurpose room, and an exhibition and display hall to provide information to prospective students, their families, and other visitors. The board approved a concept document for the visitors’ center with a funding limit of $7.54 million.
• First phase of College Avenue Greening: The board approved a concept document outlining Phase I of the College Avenue Greening Project, part of President McCormick’s Campus and Community Initiative. The university is working with Enrique Norten of TEN Arquitectos and Ignacio Bunster-Ossa of Wallace, Roberts & Todd, LLC, selected after some of the world’s most prominent architects, designers, and planners participated in a high-profile competition to win the job. The first phase of the project will include new public outdoor gathering spaces, pedestrian plazas, and an intercampus bus hub near Brower Commons and the Rutgers Student Center. The first phase cost estimate is $17 million.
• Pedestrian friendly easement: The university will grant an easement over a small plot of Rutgers-owned property – 0.243 acres – located near a construction project at the intersection of Hoes Lane West, Johnson Drive, and River Road. Middlesex County and the Township of Piscataway are working to improve conditions at the intersection, including the creation of a sidewalk, relocation of the curb, and widening of turning lanes.
• Property sold for Route 1 construction: The board agreed to sell at fair-market value land owned and controlled by the Rutgers Board of Trustees to the state of New Jersey for a construction project on Route 1 near College Farm Road. The project will improve traffic circulation around the interchange of the two roadways as well as replace the existing bridge over College Farm Road. The university will convey approximately 4.5 acres of land to the state. The Board of Trustees approved the conveyance on April 17.
• Policy adoption on planning capital projects: An interim policy for the authorization of planning expenditures for capital projects states that planning expenditures on any single capital project shall not exceed $500,000 without the written authorization of the senior vice president for finance and administration, and shall not exceed $2,000,000 without the approval of the Board of Governors.