Greenwald Statement on Higher Ed Funding Freeze: Whose Side Are You On?

(TRENTON) –  On higher education programs drastically affected by the Governor’s funding freeze, Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald (D-Camden, Burlington) issued the following statement today:

“The Rutgers/Rowan Joint Board RU Camden Business School could be short $3 million in funding this fall if this freeze continues. Cooper Medical School of Rowan University could see a total of $12 million in funding deficit as they start the first semester in September. Montclair, also a target of this administration’s funding freeze, could be without another $7 million for general operations at the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year.

“New Jersey colleges and universities depend on the $36.8 million in state aid we provided through the FY2020 budget to run the programs that meet the needs of their students. It’s incomprehensible to withhold the very funding which goes to prepare future generations to become successful doctors, engineers and entrepreneurs.

“We know whose side we stand on. We are on their side.

“Whose side are we on? We are on the side of students who amass thousands of dollars in student loan debt to pursue their dreams and obtain a college degree. We are on the side of the professors, teaching staff, and college administrators who work hard every single day to educate and guide our young adults. We are on the side of every family who has ever struggled to send their son or daughter to college to have a better chance at success than they did. We are on the side of these programs that rely on this state funding to continue and to grow.

“How do we expect our institutions of higher education to prepare future generations to compete in an ever-evolving workforce when we hold back necessary funding and allow it to be used as a political bargaining chip in Trenton? We can’t.

“We know what we stand for and who we’re fighting for. Really, whose side are you on?”