Community or Commodity?
The result of the sudden and abrupt merger of Burlington Community College and Rowan University without community discussion or input is the abandoning and closure of the Pemberton campus and the relocation of the school to the Mt. Laurel campus, leaving the area without the community college that it once had.
The excuse for doing this radical and uncalled for action is the factual statistic that the Mt. Laurel classrooms are utilized more than the Pemberton campus classrooms, a small percentage that has varied from year to year and should be changed by increasing the use of the classrooms, not closing the school all together.
By merging BCC with Rowan University they take the “community” out of the college, just as they tried to merge with Rutgers University Camden, and change their name to Rowan, but were prevented from doing so by the quick and responsible action by the faculty, students, alumni and the community who joined to together to preserve and protect their school and its legacy.
“BCC” is not a commodity, statistic or facility that can be shut down and moved on the whims of temporary administrators whose vision of grander is often not what the community sees or wants – a community college that is the hub of the community and serves the young students seeking to continue their education, adults seeking to change their careers, the military to train their soldiers, the hospitals to train their nurses and technicians, the athletes and retired people who use their athletic and aquatic facilities and retirees who use the library and pool.
It’s not just a piece of property that can be bought, sold, traded or merged like a town factory being put out of business when bought by a competing international conglomerate because it wasn’t profitable.
The community college is supposed to be a non-for-profit institution whose goal is to provide educational and recreational facilities for its citizens, not a financial statistic that makes the administrators look good.
Behind closed doors and in violation of the Sunshine Act, these administrators and politicians made a major strategic decision affecting the lives of everyone in Burlington County and South Jersey without discussion or debate and just announced that it was a done deal and there’s nothing you can do about it now.
When the President of Stockton University purchased the Showboat Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City his vision was to provide a new dormitory and educational facility for his students, but because he did this without the advice or consent of the faculty, students or community, and was prevented from using the facility for anything other than a casino, he was proud and honorable enough to admit his mistake and resign.
And that’s what everyone who has anything to do with the merger of BCC and Rowan and the closure of the Pemberton Burlington Community College.
Ironically, the honorable Mr. Rowan himself, an engineer whose work changed the nature of industry throughout the world, lives in Burlington County and is a resident of the very community that is being railroaded by power hungry temporary administrators acting his name.
William E. Kelly, Jr.
Browns Mills, N.J.
The result of the sudden and abrupt merger of Burlington Community College and Rowan University without community discussion or input is the abandoning and closure of the Pemberton campus and the relocation of the school to the Mt. Laurel campus, leaving the area without the community college that it once had.
The excuse for doing this radical and uncalled for action is the factual statistic that the Mt. Laurel classrooms are utilized more than the Pemberton campus classrooms, a small percentage that has varied from year to year and should be changed by increasing the use of the classrooms, not closing the school all together.
By merging BCC with Rowan University they take the “community” out of the college, just as they tried to merge with Rutgers University Camden, and change their name to Rowan, but were prevented from doing so by the quick and responsible action by the faculty, students, alumni and the community who joined to together to preserve and protect their school and its legacy.
“BCC” is not a commodity, statistic or facility that can be shut down and moved on the whims of temporary administrators whose vision of grander is often not what the community sees or wants – a community college that is the hub of the community and serves the young students seeking to continue their education, adults seeking to change their careers, the military to train their soldiers, the hospitals to train their nurses and technicians, the athletes and retired people who use their athletic and aquatic facilities and retirees who use the library and pool.
It’s not just a piece of property that can be bought, sold, traded or merged like a town factory being put out of business when bought by a competing international conglomerate because it wasn’t profitable.
The community college is supposed to be a non-for-profit institution whose goal is to provide educational and recreational facilities for its citizens, not a financial statistic that makes the administrators look good.
Behind closed doors and in violation of the Sunshine Act, these administrators and politicians made a major strategic decision affecting the lives of everyone in Burlington County and South Jersey without discussion or debate and just announced that it was a done deal and there’s nothing you can do about it now.
When the President of Stockton University purchased the Showboat Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City his vision was to provide a new dormitory and educational facility for his students, but because he did this without the advice or consent of the faculty, students or community, and was prevented from using the facility for anything other than a casino, he was proud and honorable enough to admit his mistake and resign.
And that’s what everyone who has anything to do with the merger of BCC and Rowan and the closure of the Pemberton Burlington Community College.
Ironically, the honorable Mr. Rowan himself, an engineer whose work changed the nature of industry throughout the world, lives in Burlington County and is a resident of the very community that is being railroaded by power hungry temporary administrators acting his name.
William E. Kelly, Jr.
Browns Mills, N.J.
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