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​Former Rutgers president launches memoir at Rutgers

Former Rutgers president Richard L. McCormick launched his book “Raised at Rutgers” yesterday at Barnes and Noble. – Photo by Photo by Edwin Gano | The Daily Targum

When former University President Richard L. McCormick fought to secure financial support for Rutgers from the New Jersey legislature, he would use a combination of “bragging and begging,” touting Rutgers’ accomplishments while warning that any budget cuts would put them at risk.

“Again and again, I pointed with pride to the University’s achievements,” he said. “And then I asked for more money.” 

The tactic was often ineffective since legislators had neither the means nor a particular urgency to support higher public education, he said, especially when Rutgers’ achievements didn’t actually stop in the face of budget cuts.

“I would have liked to have found those magic words that would have made higher education more compelling,” McCormick said. “Unfortunately, many of the public university presidents at my time were unable to express why the American people should invest in higher education.”

Former Rutgers President McCormick launched his book “Raised At Rutgers” yesterday at the Barnes and Noble on the College Avenue campus. More than 50 students, alumni and faculty members came to listen, filling in all the seats with many people standing in the back.

“Raised At Rutgers” is a reflection of his University presidency from 2002 to 2012 and covered not only his decade as the head of the administration, but also a lifetime of involvement.

Born in New Brunswick to two parents who were both long-time Rutgers employees, McCormick spent a great deal of time on campus from a young age and developed a deep affection for the University.

Before his presidency, Rutgers looked extremely different, said Richard Edwards, executive vice president of Academic Affairs and chancellor of the New Brunswick campus.

Edwards cited an extensive list of McCormick’s contributions to the University’s academic structure and the students’ quality of life on campus. He particularly emphasized the transformation of the Livingston and College Avenue campuses.

“Now, when students get their housing and it’s not on Livingston, we get all sorts of complaints,” he said to a laughing audience. “That wasn’t the case before he came here.”

Besides the aesthetic reconstruction of the campuses, McCormick was also responsible for initiating Rutgers’ entrance to the Big Ten Conference, the acquisition of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, the Aresty Research Center, the first-year Byrne Seminars and the School of Arts and Sciences Honors College.

“He led a process that transformed undergraduate education,” Edwards said.

McCormick refocused resources and attention on undergraduate students, realizing from his time as a faculty member, dean and provost that undergraduates often “fall through the cracks” at a large research institution.

Rutgers was divided into separate colleges at the time with separate admission policies and graduation requirements. But none of them had their own faculty, and students on one campus were often barred from participating in the activities of other campuses and “It was kind of the ‘RU Screw’ writ-large,” McCormick said.

He knew it was a system in need of reform.

Marlie Wasserman, the director of the Rutgers University Press, said the publisher made a rare decision to take on McCormick’s book due to his unique writing style and perspective as the president of a large state institution.

RUP rarely publishes memoirs, Wasserman said. Having frequently received and rejected manuscripts for memoirs in the past, she was uncertain about the process at first.

“I started reading with great hesitation,” she said. “Remember, he was one of my bosses.”

McCormick’s openness inspired attendees of the reading such as Andy Sisti, a graduate of the class of 1976 and current director of Athletic Development at Rutgers.

McCormick’s book reading reflected the content that many readers and reviewers have lauded, where he highlighted his own flaws as a president along with the ones he found in the institutions he encountered.

In dealing with these frustrating and repetitive conversations with budget legislators, McCormick admitted his personal shortcomings of being too uptight, detailed and serious when politics often called for being gregarious.

McCormick’s hope is that future leaders would be able to find the compelling words in support of higher education that current administrators have failed to articulate. He said it would be a “tragedy” if this effort ultimately fails and prevents institutions like Rutgers from continuing to serve the community.


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