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Rutgers University's Boards Approve Set Of 'Principles' That Run Against Merger Plans

By David Madden

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ (CBS) -- The two boards that run Rutgers University have approved a set of principles, as they call them, that appear to run contrary to any plan to merge the school's Camden campus with Rowan University.

Both the Board of Trustees and the Board of Governors huddled in a closed session before approving the document which, among other things, insists that both Rutgers-Camden and Rowan retain their autonomy, and that any collaboration abide by a state law that set up Rutgers as an independent institution. Among those in support of that stance is Rutgers-Camden history professor Katherine Epstein.

"Under certain conditions, greater autonomy for our campus within Rutgers would be acceptable, but I'm a little unclear on how replacing Rutgers bonds with Rowan chains would mean greater autonomy," Epstein says.

Both boards agreed to continued negotiations with Trenton legislators to come to some conclusion on who would pay for all this.

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