This op ed explains why I believe that a Rowan-Rutgers merger would fail to produce a high-quality research university to serve the students of South Jersey:
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012304220036
We try so hard to improve low performing urban schools, often at tremendous cost. Yet a lot of the problems in these schools stem from larger problems in our society: growing income inequality and segregation by race and class. As a society, we often ignore these larger issues and then grow frustrated when schools can’t fix things. This article, by Greg Duncan and Dick Murnane, spells out the connections.
I have just moved to Rutgers-Camden from the University of Texas at Dallas. One of my roles here is to build a new research center, the Center for Urban Research and Education (CURE). The two key missions of CURE are 1) to encourage, facilitate, and promote research on urban issues by Rutgers-Camden faculty and their collaborators around the nation; and 2) to help train the next generation of urban scholars by providing opportunities for students to become involved with ongoing research projects.
You can get more information about my work by clicking the “About” and “CV” links above.