Senate President Stephen Sweeney's bill to dismantle Rutgers' Board of Trustees, if it passes, isn't likely to survive the inevitable court challenge. The 1956 law that gave Rutgers to New Jersey enshrined the trustees' power. It's ironclad, and can't be undone by anything as simple as a bill.

That makes the debate an academic one, which is appropriate.

The question of the moment: Does the Board of Trustees – a big, clunky group with lots of members and little actual responsibility – do Rutgers any good? Or any harm?

Here’s what we know: If not for the trustees, Rutgers-Camden would be part of Rowan University by this time next week. It was the trustees – in their role as guardians of the university’s massive real estate holdings – who vetoed that part of last year’s statewide reshuffle of New Jersey’s higher ed system.

Sweeney (D-Gloucester) pushed the Rutgers-Rowan merger. So did Gov. Chris Christie, along with South Jersey powerbroker George Norcross. That’s a trio not used to hearing “no.”

Is this Sweeney’s revenge? The senator denies it. But his actions say otherwise.

Sweeney says he wants to streamline Rutgers’ bureaucracy. Rutgers is governed by two boards – the Board of Governors and the Board of Trustees. The Board of Governors has all the real power over day-to-day operations, including administration, academics and athletics. The trustees manage the real estate, approve borrowing and appoint some members of the Board of Governors. The trustees’ role is too small to be much of an obstacle.

The trustees have, arguably, made one significant decision since 1956: blocking Sweeney’s attempt to give the Camden campus to Rowan.

Sweeney's bill – S2902, introduced last week – would dissolve the Board of Trustees and hand its power over to the Board of Governors. The biggest practical change would be to consolidate all power to appoint members of the Board of Governors in the office of Christie and future governors, giving the executive branch tighter control over the entire university.

That’s where Sweeney goes far beyond “streamlining.”

In 1956, when the private Rutgers became New Jersey’s state university, this part was non-negotiable: Rutgers had to maintain independence, shielded from the whims of Jersey politics. That’s where the Board of Trustees comes in.

It’s big and unwieldy and uncontrollable – that’s all by design. The board insulates Rutgers from political control. And that’s exactly what Sweeney is trying to undo. By making all membership of the Board of Governors political appointees, the intent of the 1956 Rutgers Act is turned on its head.

What would that look like? Take a look at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, a political patronage pit that collapsed under the weight of its own corruption and ineptitude, until it was rescued last year by its merger into Rutgers.

“It’ll be UMDNJ and the Port Authority all wrapped into one,” said Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex).

Both the Senate and Assembly could vote on this today. That's because Sweeney engineered a rare, crazy fast-tracking that bypassed committee hearings, where lawmakers typically vet a bill's details before it heads to the floor. What's the rush? Why is Sweeney trying to avoid scrutiny?

Lost in Sweeney's scorched-earth rush-job are any legitimate questions about the Board of Trustees. Rutgers University is about to become a much bigger place, completing a historic-sized medical school merger and prepping to join the Big Ten. Now might be the right time to see whether it's structured to handle that much change. But the trustees will have to be part of the conversation, since even the state's own lawyers say the only way to eliminate the trustees is if they vote themselves out of existence.

Even if lawmakers can’t abolish the Board of Trustees, the attempt alone might do damage. Rutgers officials already are concerned Sweeney’s bill could affect the university’s bond rating, or slow the UMDNJ merger. And on the heels of Rutgers’ multi-pronged athletic scandals, questions about the university’s leadership won’t help its reputation.

If there’s a way to improve the university’s governance – including questions about the future of the trustees – this isn’t it. It’s a question that deserves a deliberate examination. Wisniewski said he expects to introduce a bill today that would create a commission to study the issue. That's the practical move.

Sweeney’s assault on Rutgers’ Board of Trustees is wrong-headed. And, it's likely unconstitutional. Beyond that, the motives behind the senator’s protests that this move is about government efficiency, and not political payback, are transparent.

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