Rutgers University took an unfortunate pass on Governor's plan to be included as a grower and research facility under the state's medicinal marijuana law. The news was announced on the heels of growing public support for the plan including myself, the original Assembly sponsor of the medicinal marijuana bill, and Governor Chris Christie himself.
Many critics cited the struggles of University of Massachusetts Amherst that tried to become a medical marijuana grower, but was ultimately denied by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). However, it is important to note two major differences between the UMass scenario and the one occurring with Rutgers.
UMass requested a growers bid from the DEA in a state that has not legalized medical marijuana to this day. In addition, the waiver was requested in 2002 under the Bush Administration. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has already stated the feds will not interfere with dispensaries that operate in states that have legalized marijuana for medicinal uses. Its apples and oranges we're talking about.
Rutgers is one of four schools that has been extended an initial offer to join the Big Ten, according to Missouri radio station 810 WHB.
The station, citing sources "close to the negotiations," said Rutgers, Notre Dame, Missouri and Nebraska are the first schools targeted by the Big Ten for expansion. If Notre Dame agrees to join, according to the report, the league would then add one more school to increase from 11 teams to 16. If Notre Dame again declines, the league will weigh whether to remain at 14 with Rutgers, Nebraska and Missouri or to add two more schools.
Good luck though winning a league that consists of such an incredible list of traditional powerhouses: Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, and Nebraska just to start. Still, it is big endorsement of the Scarlet Knights.
Okay, this has been bouncing around in my head for a couple of days now. I really just have to post it because it just looks like so damned much fun. This is the guys from Delta Lambda Phi Rutgers Colony, on Rutgers Day last weekend - their first - with a Lady Gaga mashup. The politics chaser was a surprise, and it comes in the last few seconds ...
Democratic political strategist Donna Brazile will speak in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. next Tuesday, Jan. 12 at the Newark Public Library.
King's assassination triggered her commitment to political and social activism, she says, and she started local: at age 9, she campaigned for a candidate who promised to build a playground in her neighborhood.
In 2005, Donna Brazile held the Senator Wynona Lipman Chair in Women's Political Leadership at CAWP, the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, where she participated in CAWP's groundbreaking Ready to Run program. This year's Ready to Run, by the way, is March 20, with a run-up program the day before focused on women of color interested in campaigning for any level of office.
Brazile of course was also Al Gore's campaign manager, and incidentally the first-ever African-American woman to manage a presidential campaign. She is currently an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, a syndicated political columnist and a regular on This Week with George Stephanopoulos.
The event begins at 5:30pm Tuesday, January 12 in Centennial Hall at the Main Library, 5 Washington St. in Newark. Doors open at 5 p.m.
Beef 'O' Brady's, the casual-dining chain of more than 260 "family sports pubs," has spent about $5 million to be the title sponsor of the St. Petersburg Bowl, with naming rights for the college football game secured for next year.
The game, to take place Saturday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, will be televised nationally on ESPN and will pit the University of Central Florida Knights against the Rutgers University Scarlet Knights.
This year it's the St. Petersburg bowl, but next year the game will actually be called the Beef 'O' Brady's bowl. They didn't really plan on being all in on Rutgers though:
The chain doesn't have a large presence in Rutgers' home state of New Jersey, but there's some brand recognition among the many people from New Jersey and New York who vacation in Florida, Vojnovic said.
"One downside of this I guess is that you really have no guarantee of which teams you get and whether they fit in your [geographic] niche," he said. "Being a regional player, it's trickier for us. We're in 24 states, but mostly in the Southeast, so that limits it a little."
If you're snowed in, the game starts at 8pm. The payout for the bowl game is $1million and the game is being played at Tropicana field in Tampa Bay. This definitely isn't the game that Rutgers or it's fans were hoping to play in. But then again, it's not the team Beef 'O' Brady's marketing department was hoping for either, so the feeling is probably mutual.
Rutgers University expects its enrollment to top 53,000 this fall.
That would be a record number and continue a trend that has seen enrollment at New Jersey's largest public university increase by more than 35 percent over the last decade.
And along with the increase in attendance, they have seen a jump in how long the students are staying and requests for assistance:
Courtney O. McAnuff, Rutgers' vice president of enrollment management, says one reason for the increase is that fewer students are dropping out. He attributes that to both the economy and university programs to improve student retention.
In another sign of the times, Rutgers says requests for financial assistance are up 29 percent. About 86 percent of its students receive financial aid.
Rutgers had 52,471 students enrolled in 2008. You can see a complete list of 2008 enrollment at all the universities in NJ, public and private, by clicking here. Over 410,000 NJ students were enrolled to attend some type of college last fall. It really is a sign of the times on all fronts, from people staying in school to people needing help to do so.
From an email to Rutgers University Veterans Affairs members:
Following our April 13 meeting, I shared with Executive Vice President Philip Furmanski and President McCormick our recommendation that Rutgers join the "Yellow Ribbon" Federal program. Dr. Furmanski concurred with our recommendation and President McCormick immediately approved it.
The email says that the University Registrar is currently in the process of completing the necessary paperwork to apply for the program. Here's what the program means:
As a "Yellow Ribbon" university, out-of-State veterans will be able to attend all campuses of Rutgers University without paying the additional out-of-State tuition charges. Under the program, the Federal government pays up to 50% of the cost of the out-of-State tuition differential and Rutgers waves the remaining 50%. This allows veterans from out-of State to apply their military tuition benefits at Rutgers in the same way as an in-State veteran would.
Should they get approval, Rutgers would join schools like Columbia, George Washington and University of Michigan as members of the program. This could open the Rutgers educational opportunity up to a whole new group of Veterans that previously would not have considered the school because of financial constraints. Congrats to the Rutgers Veterans that pushed for this move. They continue to look out for their brothers and sisters.
Rutgers University collected $1.2 million for its trip to the PapaJohns.com Bowl last December. But by the time expenses were paid and the coaching staff given its performance bonuses, the school lost more than $184,000, according to reports filed with the NCAA.
While the football team's expenses were more than covered through the Big East Conference -- which pools payoff money -- the university spent more than $200,000 to send faculty, staff and 187 members of the band and cheerleader squads to the game.
And to think, Rutgers said I was the one who wasn't good at math. Maybe next year they can hold a bake sale or car wash.
"I ask that he makes the restoration of the six varsity sports that were cut in summer 2006 a top priority.
"Men's heavyweight crew, lightweight crew, fencing, swimming, diving and tennis and women's fencing may not have received the same spotlight as football.
"But members of these teams were scholar-athletes in the truest sense who performed for the love of competition and achieved some of the highest grade point averages and graduations rates of any group of students at Rutgers.
If you were in charge at Rutgers, would you put your resources into trying to compete with the Florida's, U.S.C.'s, and Oklahoma's of the college football world when even Notre Dame can't manage it, or would you support smaller, less famous sports?
At a time when the economic slowdown has stunted development across New Jersey, Rutgers University officials said today they will spend $500 million over the next three years to expand and upgrade the school's campuses.
The spending, to be financed mostly through the sale of bonds, will fund more than 20 building projects on the Camden, Newark and New Brunswick-Piscataway campuses, said Antonio Calcado, the university's vice president for facilities and capital planning.
The projects include tens of millions of dollars in work on new dormitories, a $25 million Institute for Health Sciences in New Brunswick, a $12 million renovation of the recreation center in Camden and an $18.2 million expansion of the student center in Piscataway.
Some $60 million will go toward deferred maintenance across the university. Another $15 million has been earmarked for classroom improvements.
The University sold this as a jobs program in a tough economy:
"I think it's fair to say we've tried to accelerate as much as possible, because we can be of help in the big picture," he said. "These are good jobs -- union jobs, high wage-paying jobs -- with benefits."
This will benefit the economy with jobs in the short term and give the University a greater capacity in the long term With students living in hotels, more housing is certainly needed. Then reports surfaced about the naming of a new Athletic Director to direct the sports programs:
Tim Pernetti, a CBS College Sports executive and a tight end for Rutgers from 1990-93, is expected to be introduced Thursday as the Scarlet Knights' third director of athletics since 1972. A press conference is scheduled for Thursday at the Paul Robeson Campus Center in Newark, according to two people close to the situation.
The people requested anonymity because Pernetti, 38, still has to be formally approved by the school's Board of Governors when they meet Thursday morning.
Pernetti will have to clean up the mess left behind after the removal of Bob Mulcahy. There has been no response that I've seen to the call from Steve Sweeney to have President McCormick resign. That's not terribly surprising, given that the Legislature can't actually force the dismissal of a university president.
Some good news about the State University of New Jersey, which hasn't exactly generated the headlines they may have wanted in recent weeks. From the Star Ledger:
Rutgers University is near the top of a survey that ranks colleges on their return on investment.
The survey in the January issue of SmartMoney magazine looks at what graduates earned three and 15 years after leaving school, then compared it to what they paid in tuition.
Rutgers ranked sixth, ahead of Ivy League schools like Princeton and Harvard.
In a new twist on traditional college rankings, SmartMoney took a crack at quantifying the long-term value of a college education. Our goal was to spotlight the relationship between tuition costs and graduates' earning power. Working with consultant PayScale.com, which recently published a groundbreaking survey on alumni salaries, we first looked at what graduates from 50 of the most expensive four-year colleges earn in their early and midcareers. Then we factored in their up-front tuition and fees. The result? A unique "payback" ratio for each school.
The current cost of Rutgers in-state tuition to live on Campus including room and board is now $21,504 per year. For out of state students, it's going to cost them $31,718. Here's what the survey said about the return on that investment:
The survey found the median salary for Rutgers graduates was about $50,000 three years after graduation and about $92,000 after 15 years.
Three years out of college, I was a drag on that number and that's when it cost less to go there. A word of caution for the University, being a good return on your investment still doesn't mean people can afford you. As costs rise, grants dry up and loans become harder to get, this great opportunity for a return on their investment becomes that much harder to reach.
But that doesn't mean he deserves to be the fall guy for all of the controversies swirling around the Rutgers University athletics department.
Well, yeah, he does. He was the Athletic Director. The steady sucking sound we've heard has been the stream of stories about how the Rutgers Athletic Department sold its soul for a bit of glory. That was his decision. So he deserves to be the fall guy, the scapegoat, whatever. It's why he got such a big paycheck every month.
Personally, I think he's being tossed over Rutgers having to borrow more money to complete Boondoggle Stadium. But that's just me.
Nelligan Sports Marketing is hoping to sell naming rights to the Rutgers University football stadium for $1.5 million to $2 million dollars.
[...]
Rutgers is in the midst of expanding the venue by 13,500 seats to 56,000. However, the school is $30 million short of its fundraising goals to complete the $102 million expansion.
Because of the current financial crisis, the university is considering scaling back plans.
Nelligan said a naming-rights deal would include tickets, year-round advertising and rights to sell products and services to the university.
So what companies would you suggest buy the rights to Rutgers Stadium? Let's see if we can come up with a Jersey twist. Maybe J & J Stadium? They can give away baby wipes to the home opener.
I have to admit, I laughed when I read about the new Institute on Corruption Studies being based at Rutgers in Newark. I'm usually good at drawing analogies, but this is just so analogous on its own that it defies me.
The new institute will have broader horizons, said its new director, Adam Graycar, former director of the Australian Institute of Criminology. It will work internationally with agencies, companies, non-governmental organizations, and nations who seek to strengthen their economic and governmental infrastructure and integrity.
I look forward to seeing this new endeavor crank out some research. It should be enlightening.
There is no such thing, Schiano said. There certainly were a lot of things talked about and it was all very important to me. As long as Rutgers and the state of New Jersey are committed to being the best, we're going to grow responsibly. I think that's what we've done.
The coach said the option was discussed, however.
Could I have had it if I wanted? Yes. But I'm part of something bigger than just football. I'm part of Rutgers University, Schiano said. I felt the commitment was there. I don't want to do things that way. When you're part of something there has to be trust.
Schiano also responded to recent scrutiny over his contract and whether that leads to added pressure to perform:
Schiano said the barbs put no extra pressure on him to win big to legitimize the money the school is investing in the program.
I've been at a few places and there's always some dissent. It's not just at Rutgers, Schiano said. No matter how popular the program is, there's always a faction that doesn't agree with it. I don't feel any pressure and I don't think our players do.
I know people aren't happy with Rutgers and their funding priorities as a whole, but I just wonder whether you can hold a coach responsible for the practices of the University. I also recently wrote about the problems facing students separate from the athletic departments.
On this issue however, if there isn't a buyout clause and the University came up with "creative practices" (to put it nicely) in order to make a contract work, is Schiano responsible? Also, if there is no clause, who started the rumor and what is to gain from it besides increased pressure to get the stadium expansion project completed?
The state comptroller's office today opened an inquiry into fiscal practices at Rutgers University, the university said today.
The review is focused on the financial management of the university's athletics department and was triggered by Star-Ledger reports last week that detailed hidden side deals with head football coach Greg Schiano.
Here is more about the inquiry:
The comptroller is seeking records detailing university-wide procurement and contracting practices; the finances and money-management practices in Rutgers athletic department; and compensation packages for all team coaches.
Senator Loretta Weinberg requested the inquiry and was briefed on what it will cover:
He is seeking information to determine whether he's going to do an audit, said Weinberg . I am pleased that he is looking into it. The whole thing needs a little bit of sunshine on it.
It will be interesting watch and see what emerges from the enhanced scrutiny.
The Star-Ledger has an important piece on the disastrous Rutgers football stadium expansion. In short, the $30 million that was first going to come from the state, then from private donations, is not going to be found:
According to state and university officials, the fundraising drive encountered obstacles that were not quite so obvious when Corzine and Lesniak first announced the stadium campaign this past winter. They cited a series of unexpected hurdles, among them a national recession that hurt all types of fund-raising, and the whirlwind presidential election that has swallowed up hundreds of millions in donations that might otherwise have gone to universities or athletics. At the same time, restrictions imposed by Corzine's ethics advisers out of concern for the propriety of a governor asking for cash further complicated the effort.
I'm sorry, but since donations to Presidential candidates are limited to $2,300 ($4,600 with General), I don't buy this story. Furthermore, here are the total New Jersey political donations in Presidential years:
So we can see that blaming this fiasco on Obama and Clinton is just spin.
The bottom line is that Rutgers finally has a decent college football program, and that is nice, but this stadium expansion is just too much. We now face the prospects of serious damage to the academic program. Some states -- yes, I'm thinking of the South -- have a kind of right-wing socialism where sports entertainment is provided by state funds and corrupt rich patrons. But New Jerseyans have three professional football teams to follow, even if they are named after cities just over the border, and so funding this stadium further is irresponsible.
