NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—Rutgers University President Robert Barchi will be speaking at RUSA, the Rutgers University Student Assembly, on Thursday, March 26 at the group’s 7:30pm meeting.

The “Town Hall” meeting will be at the Raritan River Lounge at the Student Activities Center, located on George Street.

After Barchi’s remarks, attendees will be permitted to ask questions and voice concerns, and as in previous meetings, students are anxious to bring their concerns to the forefront.

Those planning to ask questions should expect a thirty-second time limit for questions, and hope they get called on before the President departs.

Barchi has spoken to RUSA a handful of times during his presidency, which began in September 2012.

President Barchi’s tenure has been characterized by his inaccessibility to the public. Attendants will hope for more candid responses from President Barchi, than in previous meetings. 

In the past, his response were dismissive, and, at times, defensive.  

Barchi shocked the audience last November with a comment that many took offense to, when he said that his dealings with state legislators caused him to fear being lynched.

Issues regarding the University’s management of funds, as well as athletics, tuition, and employee salaries are likely to be featured in this discussion. 

According to the event’s official Facebook page, Barchi is expected to address the University’s rankings, its lofty “physical master plan,” and the significant debt incurred from the school’s entrance into the Big Ten athletic conference. 

Barchi’s comments on the University’s Master Plan will be of particular interest.

Antonio Calcado, Vice President of University Affairs and Capital Planning, unveiled the plan, at the start of February. 

The Master Plan is the third plan to revamp the College Avenue campus in the past fifteen years. 

The public voiced concerns about the large expense of the plan, and some of its features’ lack of feasibility.  The plan, for instance, called for a bicycle and walking bridge, above the Raritan River, into the Livingston Campus Ecological Preserve. 

As in the past, similar plans did not justify the money spent funding them.

Editor at New Brunswick Today | 732-993-9697 | editor@newbrunswicktoday.com | Website

Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.

Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.