Rutgers Joins Acclaimed Higher Ed Consortium

Editor's Note: The following information is a press release from Rutgers University.

Rutgers University President Robert L. Barchi today announced that the university has accepted an invitation to join the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), the nation’s premier higher education consortium of top-tier research institutions. The University of Maryland was also invited to join the CIC.

The 13-member consortium includes the University of Chicago as well as Big Ten Conference members such as the University of Illinois, Northwestern, the University of Michigan, Penn State, Ohio State and Purdue. The provosts who govern the CIC voted unanimously to invite Rutgers to join the consortium.

CIC Chair and Michigan State University Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Kim A. Wilcox said, “We welcome Rutgers University and the University of Maryland, two top-tier public research institutions that share the academic values, aspirations and challenges of the CIC member universities.”

“Most of the schools in the consortium are, like Rutgers, large state universities that serve a similar mission,” said Barchi.  “This is where Rutgers belongs. The CIC is committed to advance its members’ academic missions, leverage campus resources, share expertise, and expand academic and research opportunities for students and faculty.”

Rutgers’ membership in the CIC becomes effective July 1, 2013.

Rutgers brings eminent faculty and cutting-edge research to the consortium. With the addition of Rutgers and Maryland, CIC institutions will engage in more than $9 billion in annual funded research. In turn, collaborations with CIC members offer Rutgers students, faculty and staff access to world-class resources and programs.

“This opens a new realm of possibilities,” said Richard L. Edwards, executive vice president for academic affairs. “Our students will have access to new courses through distance learning technology, millions more library volumes and new study abroad programs.” The CIC’s Summer Research Opportunities Program for underrepresented students provides qualified undergraduates with intensive research experiences and has created a pipeline for future graduate students, faculty and professionals, Edwards added.

Faculty and staff at CIC universities have a wide range of collaborative opportunities to advance their research and scholarship and sharpen their professional skills.