Rutgers University's $500 Million Economic Stimulus

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Citing prudent fiscal policies and strong credit ratings, Rutgers University is embarking on a $500 million capital construction program that will create new academic and student facilities while generating thousands of badly needed construction jobs across the state.

This construction program, which will fund more than 20 building projects on the university’s Camden, Newark and New Brunswick campuses, is projected to create 5,000 jobs through 2011, said Rutgers University President Richard L. McCormick.

“The projects that are part of this initiative will enhance services and academic opportunities for Rutgers students while benefiting the regional economy,” McCormick said. “As the federal stimulus plan demonstrates, infrastructure improvements are an important way to create jobs and lay the foundation for long-term economic growth. On the state level, Rutgers University can play a similar role as an economic engine across New Jersey.”

The job projections were generated by Antonio Calcado, university vice president for facilities and capital planning, James W. Hughes, dean of Rutgers’ Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, and Joseph J. Seneca, university professor at the Bloustein School.

 Projects that are part of the university’s construction program include:

·         A $25 million Institute for Health Sciences on the New Brunswick Campus

·         $12 million in renovations to the recreational center on the Camden Campus

·         $5.4 million to construct additional research laboratories in the Life Sciences Center on the Newark Campus

·         $55 million for a new Center for Integrative Proteomics Technologies facility on the Busch Campus in Piscataway

·         $18.2 million to expand the Livingston Campus Student Center in Piscataway

·         $60 million for deferred maintenance across the university

·         $15 million for classroom improvements

To help finance this initiative, the university successfully sold $233.1 million in general obligation bonds on Feb. 10. The bonds will be repaid through user fees and other university revenues.

Prior to the bond sale, the nation’s two most-respected bond-rating agencies reaffirmed Rutgers’ strong credit ratings – Aa3 from Moody’s Investors Service, AA from Standard & Poor’s.

In its rating report, Moody’s analysts wrote: “Rutgers’ position as the state’s . . . only comprehensive public research university will continue to drive the excellent student demand and anchor state and private support for its academic, research and public service programs for the foreseeable future.”

Among Rutgers’ strengths cited by Moody’s: the recent transformation of undergraduate education on the New Brunswick Campus; a significant rise in grant funding for research over the past decade; and record levels of applications from prospective students in recent years.

Bruce C. Fehn, the university’s senior vice president for finance and administration, noted that approximately $100 million of the bonds were sold to investors within New Jersey. “Even in these economically challenging times, it is reassuring to know that Rutgers University is still considered a good investment by the people of New Jersey,” Fehn said.

This new construction program is on top of other job-creating projects that are under way or recently completed – such as the $102 million expansion of Rutgers Stadium, the $37 million construction of the new Rutgers School of Law building on the Camden Campus, and $10.5 million to upgrade an electrical substation that is increasing power to the Busch and Livingston campuses in Piscataway.

Capital construction is one of many ways that Rutgers University directly benefits New Jersey residents and the state economy. Other examples include:

·         The Food Innovation Center in Bridgeton. Since its founding in 2001, this project of Rutgers’ New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station has provided business and technology expertise to more than 1,000 companies and entrepreneurs in each of the state’s 21 counties.

·         Rutgers’ Office of Career Services, which will hold four public job fairs this year – connecting hundreds of employers with thousands of job seekers from across New Jersey and beyond.

·         Rutgers Against Hunger (RAH), a statewide initiative that aims to increase awareness of hunger and encourage community service to help those in need. The university is enlisting students, faculty, staff, alumni and the concerned public in efforts to stock food banks; provide consumer education on nutrition; deliver technical and organizational support to community groups; and conduct research toward improving food production, packaging and distribution.

Established in 1766, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is America’s eighth oldest institution of higher learning and one of the nation’s premier public research universities. Serving more than 50,000 students on campuses in Camden, Newark and New Brunswick, Rutgers offers more than 280 bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral and professional degree programs. The university is home to 27 degree-granting schools and colleges, and more than 150 specialized centers and institutes. Rutgers is also a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, a highly selective organization comprising the 62 leading research universities in North America.