The following article appeared in newyorkbusiness.com
NYU-Polytechnic tie-up appears likely
by Samantha Marshall
August 08, 2007 3:50PM
Improvements
orchestrated by
President Jerry Hultin announced Tuesday on the school’s Web site that the two
institutions had resumed talks which broke down three years ago when faculty
members balked at terms which failed to provide them with the job security they
sought.
The two sides have agreed in principle to preserve tenure for Polytechnic
faculty who already have it, or are in the process of getting it, says Mr.
Hultin. It’s also likely that the institute will get to keep its name, preserve
its endowment and continue to use the
Administrators at Polytechnic, one of the oldest engineering schools in the
country, said that they are “highly confident” that an agreement will be
reached, with a vote on a merger agreement expected this fall. Mr. Hultin, a
former U.S. Navy undersecretary, who was hired after the merger talks collapsed,
increased enrollment, balanced the budget and outlined a mission for the
school.
“The real driver here is that this (merger) accelerates our strategic plan of
being a major player of economic development, entrepreneurship and using
technology in society,” says Mr. Hultin.
NYU has been lacking in engineering, applied sciences and technology since The
College of Engineering and Science was disbanded more than 30 years ago and its
engineering faculty and students merged with the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn.
"As an academic idea (Polytechnic University) is stronger and the
leadership there is quite visionary," says NYU president John Sexton.
"But it's a vision that needs support from a research university."
Polytechnic students and faculty, meanwhile, would be able to collaborate with
NYU’s health care faculty on biomedical science and engineering.
NYU has also been looking across to