Rutgers Launches Advocacy Effort

February 11, 2004

Members of the Rutgers Community:

You have heard me speak on many occasions about the need for Rutgers to forge stronger connections with the people of New Jersey and persuade them to invest in what we do. We cannot take state support for granted but instead must work harder to communicate fully the benefits of a state university. We must tell our story well and gain the enthusiastic support of New Jersey’s leaders and citizens in order to achieve our goal of making Rutgers one of the very best public research universities in America.

It is my pleasure to announce a vital new tool in our advocacy effort. Today we are establishing Friends of Rutgers, a network of Rutgers supporters who will help us carry the university’s message to policy makers, voters, and other influential citizens.

An immediate priority of the Friends of Rutgers will be to increase state operating aid for Rutgers, starting with the fiscal year 2005 budget. Governor McGreevey will unveil his proposed FY05 budget later this month, and we will call on the Friends of Rutgers soon afterward. In this regard, we will build on the remarkable advocacy effort that Rutgers students, faculty, alumni, staff, and friends mounted last year. But this year we have a head start in that I have been meeting with policy makers in Trenton, at my home, and at Rutgers events over the past several months to raise their awareness of the need to fund Rutgers adequately.

While much work will be done during this budget process, Friends of Rutgers is not a five-month project. It is a long-term, future-focused campaign to help the university receive the support it needs to maintain excellence in teaching, research, and service and reach the top tier of public research universities. Our aim will be to ensure that Rutgers can meet vital challenges such as providing the classroom space and outstanding faculty to serve the growing number of New Jersey students seeking higher education.

You will be hearing more about Friends of Rutgers in the coming weeks and months. The challenges facing Rutgers are considerable, but so are the opportunities for us to achieve our greatest ambitions. Through your participation in Friends of Rutgers, we can obtain the support we need to reach the next level of excellence.

I urge you to register as a member of the Friends of Rutgers network today. You can register online and learn more at http://for.rutgers.edu.

Richard L. McCormick
President
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey