Rutgers University President Richard McCormick sharply criticized a report advising Rowan University how to market a takeover of Rutgers-Camden to a wary public, calling it "truly offensive and enraging," in an e-mail message The Star-Ledger obtained Tuesday.

McCormick described Gov. Chris Christie’s plan to merge the two campuses as a “disappointment,” and said he and other university officials have repeatedly urged the administration to consider alternatives, but the suggestions have gone unheeded, according to the e-mail.

Commissioned months before Christie unveiled the proposed reorganization, the report sought by Rowan advises officials to turn a deaf ear to likely critics and move swiftly to meet the governor’s tight deadline of July 1. In the end, the critics would have no choice but to climb on board, the consultants’ report says.

“The attached report is truly offensive and enraging,” McCormick wrote Monday in the e-mail. “I never saw the report or was aware it was being written, or even heard of its existence.”

But a spokesman for Christie, Michael Drewniak, said the Rutgers president was privy to all the discussions about the reorganization being designed as “an indivisible plan benefiting the north, central and southern regions of New Jersey.”

The authenticity of the e-mail message was verified by the university, though it was not clear to whom it was originally addressed. McCormick, who is stepping down as president at the end this academic year, declined to elaborate on his remarks.

The Rowan report also warns that the takeover will probably be costly, covering things like legal fees and stocking a new library, though the unidentified expenses will most likely be borne by the state.

At a meeting of the Rutgers Board of GovernorsTuesday in New Brunswick, there was little discussion of the reorganization, but McCormick said the university still has no idea how much the plan will cost to execute.

“We are continuing to explore the financial implications with due diligence, and will be exploring it further this spring,” he told the board.

After the public meeting, McCormick said there is no preliminary financial estimate of the plan’s effect on Rutgers — which would include a significant loss of tuition and the cost of refinancing existing bonds.

He said a second piece of Christie’s plan for Rutgers — acquisition of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey as well as other UMDNJ schools in New Brunswick — carries a combined budget in excess of $500 million.

Rutgers-Camden students rally against proposed merger with Rowan University 10 Gallery: Rutgers-Camden students rally against proposed merger with Rowan University

But the takeover by Rowan is a wild card for Rutgers. The last time estimates for the reorganization of parts of the state’s higher education system were examined was during the administration of Gov. Jon Corzine. But those studies never anticipated a spinoff of Rutgers-Camden to Rowan, McCormick said.

Acknowledging the anger among many students and professors on the Camden campus, McCormick said he is “taking very seriously their concerns.”

Despite the opposition, Christie is pressing ahead with his reorganization plan. He and other supporters say that by combining the two campuses, South Jersey will gain a crucial stand-alone research university that will help the region attract and retain professionals. Critics contend the region will be robbed of a highly regarded university in Rutgers.

The idea of a Rowan-Rutgers reorganization was first discussed last fall, prompting Rowan officials to seek advice from the Learning Alliance for Higher Education, based at the University of Pennsylvania. The resulting 15-page report was dated Jan. 26, a day after Christie unveiled several recommendations, including the takeover, from a task force he appointed.

To one critic of the plan, U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, the proximity of the two dates suggests the plan was decided on before it was made public.

“This secret report shows that the fix was in long before the merger was even presented to the public,” the Democrat said in a statement. “It’s sad that a $30,000 report was commissioned by proponents of the merger to advise them on how to avoid the facts and mislead the public.”

In the past week, Lautenberg has been exchanging barbs with the governor and South Jersey lawmakers, led by Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester), who criticized the senator for overreaching.

Joe Cardona, a spokesman for Rowan, said there was nothing secret about the report, which was commissioned after the governor’s task force interviewed people about the possible takeover in late summer and early fall.

The consultants told Rowan officials to anticipate opposition, but said they should not pay much attention.

“It is important that those responsible for managing the transition to a new Rowan University spend as little time as possible explaining how and why the protests have missed the point,” the report says. “Rather, those responsible for managing the transition to a new Rowan University should spend the great majority of their time describing the opportunities a new Rowan University makes possible.”

Staff writer Ted Sherman contributed to this report.

Related coverage:

• N.J. higher education reorganization: An opinion round-up

• Poll: Rutgers-Rowan merger opposed by 59 percent of voters

• Rutgers trustees show disapproval toward Camden campus-Rowan merger