Rowan to host Oct. 15 conference on 'Restructuring Higher Education in New Jersey: Thirty Years of Change, Future Challenges'

Three decades after the Higher Education Restructuring Act transformed the landscape of higher education in New Jersey, the Sweeney Center for Public Policy at Rowan University is hosting a major conference on Tuesday, Oct. 15 on “Restructuring Higher Education in New Jersey: Thirty Years of Change, Future Challenges.”

Brian K. Bridges, Secretary of Higher Education, and Senator Joseph Cryan, who chairs the Senate Higher Education Committee, are keynote speakers for the conference, which will be held from 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. in the Eynon Ballroom, Chamberlain Student Center, Rowan University, 201 Mullica Hill Road, Glassboro, N.J.

The conference, which includes breakfast and lunch, is free for both in-person and virtual attendees. To sign up, register here or go to Events (rowan.edu)

“Thirty years ago, the Higher Education Restructuring Act freed New Jersey’s public universities and colleges to compete and chart their own courses by replacing the central authority of the Chancellor and Department of Higher Education with a Council of College Presidents and Secretary of Higher Education,” said Sweeney Center Director Mark Magyar.

“A second major restructuring merged New Jersey’s medical schools into Rutgers and Rowan universities in 2012, with the goal of increasing the state’s competitiveness for research and development grants. This conference will evaluate the impact of these restructuring laws, explore the challenges facing higher education in the years ahead, and review whether current governance structures are adequate to meet those challenges.”

In addition to Bridges and Cryan, speakers will include:

• Ali Houshmand, president of Rowan University;
• Michael Avaltroni, president of Fairleigh Dickinson University;
• Jonathan Koppell, president of Montclair State University;
• Frederick Keating, president of Rowan College of South Jersey;
• Jennifer S. Higgins, president of the American Federation of Teachers, New Jersey;
• Henry J. Amoroso, state monitor for New Jersey City University;
• George Pruitt, former Thomas Edison State University president and former president of the Council of College Presidents;
• Kathy Scotto, vice chancellor of research, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences;
• Anthony Lowman, provost and senior vice president of academic affairs at Rowan.

“With New Jersey colleges and universities facing increasing fiscal pressures amid forecasts of long-term enrollment decline, we are honored to be able to bring together such a distinguished group of experts to address these critical issues,” Magyar said.

The conference is co-sponsored by the Sweeney Center and Rowan’s College of Education. 

About the Sweeney Center for Public Policy

The Sweeney Center for Public Policy is an independent bipartisan public policy center formed to conduct research and develop pragmatic solutions to complex policy issues based on data-driven analysis, rigorous academic research and convening working groups that bring together policy experts, stakeholders and advocates to reach consensus. The policy center is part of Rowan University’s College of Humanities & Social Sciences. For information, contact Mark Magyar at magyarm@rowan.edu.