II. Academic Reorganization,, 1974-1989 (1979-1987)

Summary: Includes broadsides, manifestos, models and plans, proposals, letters to the editor of newspapers, including the Rutgers Daily Targum and the New York Times, items about rallies and the minutes of meetings held by coalition, faculty, and student groups, and the texts of speeches.

This material was generated in response to the idea of "Academic Reorganization" first proposed by Provost Kenneth Wheeler as the four year federated plan experiment drew to a close. He concluded that federation was not the answer, and that the University would benefit from consolidation. This series documents the reactions to Wheeler's findings and the subsequent developments in the debate, from Committees I and II to the McCormick model and the Ad Hoc Committee on Committee II. The reports, including the "Babbidge Report" and those by Wheeler, Professor Richard McCormick, and Associate Provost John S. Salapatas, are here, as are the various responses to them given by the Alliance for Rutgers Federation (ARF), University President Edward J. Bloustein, members of the Boards of Trustees and Governors, Livingston College Congress, and the University Senate.

Groups documented include the Ad Hoc Committee on Committee II and the Physical Consolidation Committee, which was formed by the Rutgers administration to address the practical implementation of the "Academic Reorganization" when it became fact, and which consisted of members of the administration, faculty, and student body.

In-depth coverage of the students actively opposed to "Academic Reorganization" appears in this series. The Federation Day Rally is documented. Also well-documented is the transformation of the Alliance for Rutgers Federation (ARF) into the Coalition to Protect the Colleges (CPC); an example of a Rutgers student activist group adapting itself to changing circumstances and, through compromise, continuing to play a role in the "Academic Reorganization".