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Poly alumni still object to merger

By Mike McLaughlin
The Brooklyn Paper
Polytechnic University
Polytechnic University President Jerry Hultin

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A new state Senate report blasts this year’s merger of New York University and Polytechnic University as flawed — and defiant Polytechnic alumni, who have been unsuccessful in their bid to prevent the Downtown engineering campus from being taken over by the Manhattan-based liberal arts school, are saying, “We told you so.”

Some board members and alumni of the 154-year-old Downtown Brooklyn university have sought to squelch the merger with the expansionist Greenwich Village academy, claiming conflicts of interests and a 1973 state agreement that suggested that NYU is barred from having an engineering program.

Amid such charges, state Sen. Kenneth LaValle (R–Long Island) negotiated a 30-day postponement of the Feburary merger vote so he could proceed with an inquiry.

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After that delay, the boards of both schools voted to join the two institutions, which must be approved by the state Board of Regents.

LaValle’s just-released report dismissed some the alleged misconduct — but it did criticize Polytechnic for these improprieties:

• “The affiliation negotiations between Polytech and NYU were being conducted by [Poly] President Jerry Hultin months before they were announced to the rest of the Board.”

• “Board members who were not supportive of the affiliation were excluded or marginalized from the working committees set up [to] address affiliation.”

• “An updated appraisal of Polytech’s real property was never obtained.”

Anti-merger forces said the findings buttressed their ongoing opposition to NYU’s acquisition of their alma mater.

“This fits into what we’ve been saying all along — that it’s been rushed for no reason,” said Edward Sawchuck.

Officials at NYU did not respond to requests for comment. Poly Board Chairman Craig Matthews said in a statement that LaValle’s report “expressed no basis to object to the merger.”

He said both schools would move ahead to “secure approval by the Board of Regents” — and the result would be a “top-tier research, technology, and engineering institution that will benefit our students, New York City, the nation and the world.”

©2008 The Brooklyn Paper

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