PISCATAWAY — The "new Rutgers" made its debut today as lawmakers and university leaders gathered at celebrations around the state to mark the beginning of a new era for higher education in New Jersey.

Overnight, Rutgers University took over seven of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey's schools, including two of its medical schools, as part of a statewide higher education restructuring.

In South Jersey, Rowan University took over UMDNJ’s School of Osteopathic Medicine in Camden County. Meanwhile, University Hospital in Newark, also formerly part of UMDNJ, became a freestanding state hospital.

"The real gems in the UMDNJ system will shine even brighter in this new arrangement," Gov. Chris Christie said, speaking before a standing-room-only audience at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway, one of the UMDNJ schools Rutgers took over.

The party in Piscataway was part of a statewide victory lap of sorts for higher education and political leaders who helped push the restructuring legislation through the Legislature last year. Though several governors had tried to bring together all or part of Rutgers and UMDNJ, Christie finally succeeded with the help of legislators who brokered the complex deal.

"Doing this was not easy; it was never going to be," Christie said.

Rutgers president Robert Barchi said he was happy to face reporters and television cameras for a positive reason for a change. He was referring to the string of sports controversies, including the firing of Rutgers basketball coach Mike Rice in April, that served as a distraction in recent months as the university scrambled to complete the merger.

New Jersey is poised to get the state university it always has deserved, Barchi said. With the UMDNJ merger, Rutgers now has more than 65,000 students and ranks as one of the top 25 universities in the nation in spending on research.

"If we don’t make more out of this than adding pieces together, then we’ve failed," Barchi said.

At the end of the ceremony, students and faculty unfurled the banners of the schools, including former UMDNJ units, that now make up Rutgers’ new Biomedical and Health Sciences division.

Rutgers and UMDNJ officials spent nearly a year planning for the merger, with consultants and hundreds of employees serving on transition teams. But Rutgers set up a command center to deal with any problems no one had anticipated.

By the afternoon, the command center had received a few calls. But there were no major problems, said Christopher Molloy, the Rutgers administrator who led the complex integration.

Additional celebrations took place in New Brunswick, where Rutgers rang the historic Old Queens bell to mark the merger with UMDNJ, and Stratford, where Rowan University celebrated its takeover of UMDNJ’s osteopathic medical school.

Rutgers officials also traveled to Newark, where they were greeted by another standing-room-only crowd at UMDNJ’s former dental school. UMDNJ’s former buildings, including its iconic high-rise that overlooks the city from Bergen Street, featured large new Rutgers signs.

Denise Rodgers, UMDNJ’s final president, said she thought it would take a "miracle" for the schools to complete the merger by the July 1 deadline.

"We spent many days in the trenches making this happen," said Rodgers, who started a new position as a vice chancellor at Rutgers today.

University Hospital, UMDNJ’s teaching hospital, also celebrated its new start. The hospital’s new board held an early-morning meeting to incorporate the Newark institution as a freestanding medical center.

"The future for all of us is here today," said James Gonzalez, the hospital’s president and chief executive officer.

The hospital will continue to serve as a teaching hospital for Rutgers’ new health science schools as it stands on its own.

Before inviting members of the newly merged Rutgers and UMDNJ campuses to join him for reception that included dozens of cupcakes arranged in a giant "R," Barchi said the work’s not done.

Though they have been "bolted" together, Rutgers must truly incorporate UMDNJ’s schools, employees and students into the university, the president said.

"We all recognize this is not the end. This is just the beginning," Barchi said.

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