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Cure for UMDNJ woes?
Scandals spur Rutgers merger talk
Home News Tribune Online 03/30/06
By RICK MALWITZSTAFF WRITERrmalwitz@thnt.com
The scandals linked to the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey have prompted area legislators and Rutgers University officials to explore a merger between the university and the UMDNJ schools in the Piscataway and New Brunswick area.
A merger would link Rutgers with the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway and the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick.
Attaching a medical school to Rutgers "would be another piece in making Rutgers a great state university," said Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan, D-Middlesex.
"Putting Rutgers and UMDNJ together would raise New Jersey's standard of excellence in research, education and health care," said Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, who has discussed a possible merger with Rutgers officials, and members of Gov. Jon S. Corzine's administration.
Talks of a merger are taking place against a backdrop of scandal at UMDNJ, which is under investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office, which is looking into charges of influence peddling and the awarding of no-bid contracts.
UMDNJ, which has its main office in Newark, has already been charged with Medicaid fraud, and its operation is overseen by a federal monitor.
The scandals "are a strong catalyst to make this happen," said state Sen. Ray Lesniak, D-Union. "What I believe does not make sense is the status quo."
Several medical students interviewed at the Piscataway campus embraced the idea.
"On a very basic level it would make life a lot easier — parking, access to the labs, the library, the copier machines," said Jaclyn McKinstry, a first-year medical school student from Cherry Hill.
She was skeptical that a merger would, in fact, take place. "We will love it, but the administration (at UMDNJ) has too much to lose," said McKinstry.
Nicholas Mapoli, a first-year medical student from Highland Park, who graduated from Rutgers College with a degree in Spanish, said a merger would make it easier to tell people where he attends school. "Rutgers is easier to explain than an acronym."
Mapoli said the scandals linked to UMDNJ have minimal effect on his perception of the medical school. "A few administrators did things they should not have done. That does not take away from the education offered here," he said.
A merger would undo the effect of the Medical and Dental Education Act of 1970, which joined the New Jersey College of Medicine and Dentistry in Newark with the Rutgers Medical School — ending the medical school's formal link to the university.
UMDNJ has grown to include eight schools at five campuses, with Piscataway and New Brunswick considered to be one campus.
The signature building of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is located on Rutgers' Busch Campus. "You don't even have to cross the street," said a Rutgers official, referring to side-by-side proximity of Rutgers and UMDNJ facilities.
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick is the medical school's teaching hospital.
Some elements of UMDNJ and Rutgers have already been combined. The Cancer Institute in New Brunswick operates under the UMDNJ umbrella, but about 40 percent of its faculty are from the Rutgers faculty. Diplomas earned by graduates of the UMDNJ School of Public Health include the signature of Rutgers University President Richard L. McCormick.
Despite side-by-side facilities, UMDNJ and Rutgers have separate telephone systems. "It's a toll call to call UMDNJ," said a Rutgers official.
According to area lawmakers, the Rutgers administration supports a merger, though no member of the administration would comment for publication, according to university spokesman Greg Trevor.
UMDNJ officials would not comment, according to spokeswoman Anna Farneski.
Vitale calls McCormick a "tremendous advocate," but more important than McCormick's opinion is the governor's.
At a March 2 video conference with students and staff at UMDNJ's five locations, Corzine described himself as an "agnostic" when the question of the merger was raised.
Lesniak allowed that the governor has had to concentrate on mending the state's fiscal woes, before tackling an issue such as the proposed merger.
"The governor is committed to making sure UMDNJ has a fresh start," spokesman Anthony Coley said yesterday.
One of the most publicized failures of the administration of Gov. James E. McGreevey was an ambitious plan to merge UMDNJ with Rutgers and the New Jersey Institute of Technology. The "University of New Jersey" was to have been patterned after the University of California system.
"Those of us who lived during the . . . experience know that it was too much to bite off," said Vitale. "It was so broad — it was like Bill and Hillary (Clinton) trying to sell a health plan the first five minutes of their administration."
While a merger would benefit Central Jersey, it cannot work with without statewide support in the Legislature.
"This is tremendous for our area, but there has to be a North Jersey solution and a South Jersey solution," said Vitale.
Vitale said the merger of Rutgers and the UMDNJ campuses in New Brunswick and Piscataway could also have a component for Newark, merging NJIT with the New Jersey Medical School in Newark, allowing the medical school to "combine with NJIT's technical component," he said.
Lesniak said he has spoken with officials at NJIT, and they support the concept.
Vitale suggested South Jersey could benefit with a merger of UMDNJ's facilities in the Camden area and the Camden campus of Rutgers.
Some area lawmakers fear the scandals might cause a personnel drain.
"The publicity has been so terrible — we run the risk of losing key people," said state Sen. Barbara Buono, (D-Middlesex. "We already lost Dean (Harold) Paz."
Earlier this month, Paz stepped down as dean of the medical school to accept the position of chief executive officer of the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center at Penn State University and as dean of its College of Medicine.
The Penn State model — having a medical school connected to the state university — is common throughout the United States.
"Every high-end state university has a medical school," said Buono.
"It is not a matter of us just competing with other states. We could have something better," said Vitale.
Rick Malwitz:
(732) 565-7291
Cure for UMDNJ woes?
Scandals spur Rutgers merger talk
Home News Tribune Online 03/30/06
By RICK MALWITZSTAFF WRITERrmalwitz@thnt.com
The scandals linked to the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey have prompted area legislators and Rutgers University officials to explore a merger between the university and the UMDNJ schools in the Piscataway and New Brunswick area.
A merger would link Rutgers with the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway and the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick.
Attaching a medical school to Rutgers "would be another piece in making Rutgers a great state university," said Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan, D-Middlesex.
"Putting Rutgers and UMDNJ together would raise New Jersey's standard of excellence in research, education and health care," said Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, who has discussed a possible merger with Rutgers officials, and members of Gov. Jon S. Corzine's administration.
Talks of a merger are taking place against a backdrop of scandal at UMDNJ, which is under investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office, which is looking into charges of influence peddling and the awarding of no-bid contracts.
UMDNJ, which has its main office in Newark, has already been charged with Medicaid fraud, and its operation is overseen by a federal monitor.
The scandals "are a strong catalyst to make this happen," said state Sen. Ray Lesniak, D-Union. "What I believe does not make sense is the status quo."
Several medical students interviewed at the Piscataway campus embraced the idea.
"On a very basic level it would make life a lot easier — parking, access to the labs, the library, the copier machines," said Jaclyn McKinstry, a first-year medical school student from Cherry Hill.
She was skeptical that a merger would, in fact, take place. "We will love it, but the administration (at UMDNJ) has too much to lose," said McKinstry.
Nicholas Mapoli, a first-year medical student from Highland Park, who graduated from Rutgers College with a degree in Spanish, said a merger would make it easier to tell people where he attends school. "Rutgers is easier to explain than an acronym."
Mapoli said the scandals linked to UMDNJ have minimal effect on his perception of the medical school. "A few administrators did things they should not have done. That does not take away from the education offered here," he said.
A merger would undo the effect of the Medical and Dental Education Act of 1970, which joined the New Jersey College of Medicine and Dentistry in Newark with the Rutgers Medical School — ending the medical school's formal link to the university.
UMDNJ has grown to include eight schools at five campuses, with Piscataway and New Brunswick considered to be one campus.
The signature building of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is located on Rutgers' Busch Campus. "You don't even have to cross the street," said a Rutgers official, referring to side-by-side proximity of Rutgers and UMDNJ facilities.
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick is the medical school's teaching hospital.
Some elements of UMDNJ and Rutgers have already been combined. The Cancer Institute in New Brunswick operates under the UMDNJ umbrella, but about 40 percent of its faculty are from the Rutgers faculty. Diplomas earned by graduates of the UMDNJ School of Public Health include the signature of Rutgers University President Richard L. McCormick.
Despite side-by-side facilities, UMDNJ and Rutgers have separate telephone systems. "It's a toll call to call UMDNJ," said a Rutgers official.
According to area lawmakers, the Rutgers administration supports a merger, though no member of the administration would comment for publication, according to university spokesman Greg Trevor.
UMDNJ officials would not comment, according to spokeswoman Anna Farneski.
Vitale calls McCormick a "tremendous advocate," but more important than McCormick's opinion is the governor's.
At a March 2 video conference with students and staff at UMDNJ's five locations, Corzine described himself as an "agnostic" when the question of the merger was raised.
Lesniak allowed that the governor has had to concentrate on mending the state's fiscal woes, before tackling an issue such as the proposed merger.
"The governor is committed to making sure UMDNJ has a fresh start," spokesman Anthony Coley said yesterday.
One of the most publicized failures of the administration of Gov. James E. McGreevey was an ambitious plan to merge UMDNJ with Rutgers and the New Jersey Institute of Technology. The "University of New Jersey" was to have been patterned after the University of California system.
"Those of us who lived during the . . . experience know that it was too much to bite off," said Vitale. "It was so broad — it was like Bill and Hillary (Clinton) trying to sell a health plan the first five minutes of their administration."
While a merger would benefit Central Jersey, it cannot work with without statewide support in the Legislature.
"This is tremendous for our area, but there has to be a North Jersey solution and a South Jersey solution," said Vitale.
Vitale said the merger of Rutgers and the UMDNJ campuses in New Brunswick and Piscataway could also have a component for Newark, merging NJIT with the New Jersey Medical School in Newark, allowing the medical school to "combine with NJIT's technical component," he said.
Lesniak said he has spoken with officials at NJIT, and they support the concept.
Vitale suggested South Jersey could benefit with a merger of UMDNJ's facilities in the Camden area and the Camden campus of Rutgers.
Some area lawmakers fear the scandals might cause a personnel drain.
"The publicity has been so terrible — we run the risk of losing key people," said state Sen. Barbara Buono, (D-Middlesex. "We already lost Dean (Harold) Paz."
Earlier this month, Paz stepped down as dean of the medical school to accept the position of chief executive officer of the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center at Penn State University and as dean of its College of Medicine.
The Penn State model — having a medical school connected to the state university — is common throughout the United States.
"Every high-end state university has a medical school," said Buono.
"It is not a matter of us just competing with other states. We could have something better," said Vitale.
Rick Malwitz:
(732) 565-7291
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 10:21 AM
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