In a state Assembly Budget Committee hearing in Trenton last Thursday, University President Richard L. McCormick sat with legislators and other heads of higher education institutions in New Jersey to discuss the upcoming state budget.
Gov. Jon S. Corzine's budget for the 2007 fiscal year proposes an allotment of $580 million to education statewide. Out of that sum, $12.3 million would go to Rutgers directly.
McCormick answered the questions of several state politicians, including Union County Assemblyman Joseph Cryan.
Cryan cited recent athletic successes at the University, including the football team and the women's basketball team, but asked McCormick to speak on some of Rutgers' academic strong points. The president was quick to point out several recent achievements within the University community.
"We're very proud of our athletic accomplishments," McCormick said. "But we're even prouder of our academics."
The president spoke of Professor Robert Trivers, who was recently awarded the Crafoord Prize, which is equivalent to the Nobel Prize in the field of the biological sciences. He also reminded the committee that Professor Barry Qualls was voted New Jersey Professor of the Year in 2006.
"Rutgers is also home to the second best philosophy department in the English speaking world," McCormick said.
The president briefly outlined his plans and goals for the University during the upcoming year. McCormick focused on transforming undergraduate education in an effort to give more attention to students.
"Most of our students are undergraduates," McCormick said. "We want to ensure that our tens of thousands of students get the full benefits of being at an institution like ours where faculty are creating knowledge as well as disseminating it."
McCormick touched on the University's new first-year seminars that will be put into effect next year. The seminars, which are instructed by over 100 faculty members, are small enrollment courses that first-year students can take for credit.
The aim of the seminars is to facilitate student research and contact with the faculty at the University, the president said.
When asked about the academic caliber of incoming students, McCormick noted that 12 percent of first-year students are placed in remedial English, while a quarter are placed in remedial math. The president attributed these numbers to the University's academic standards. He cited the University's success in retaining students, noting that 70 percent of all students at the University graduate within six years or less.
"Our research faculty is exceedingly demanding, and their expectations are very high," McCormick said. "While the remedial numbers are higher than you might expect [when compared to other universities], our success rate is essentially the same. Whatever we're doing, it is working."
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