The Alumni Association of Polytechnic University has broken with the school’s leadership to oppose a proposed merger with New York University on the grounds that it would destroy the Downtown Brooklyn institution.
The proposed merger would put Brooklyn’s premiere engineering school under the purple umbrella of the larger Greenwich Village-based university.
Advocates of the marriage made in academia — including Poly’s Board of Trustees — say the merger would boost the school, bringing new cachet and a bigger endowment.
But in a Sept. 6 memo to the school’s Board of Trustees, Alumni Association President George Likourezos slammed the merger as a “one-sided” acquisition that would be a “waste of Polytechnic’s assets [and] … not equitably reflect Polytechnic’s true value to NYU.”
The 10-page memorandum raises multiple objections to the potential merger, including doubts about the Manhattan school’s motivations. Alumni fear that NYU could be eying Poly’s real estate, not its academic might.
“This is a land grab that comes with no guarantees that NYU won’t close Poly to build its own Brooklyn campus on our land,” said Likourezos, a 1992 Poly grad.
The alum’s fears have been refuted by both the president of NYU and Poly, who say the agreement will benefit both schools and create a top engineering campus. A spokesman for NYU said that the school has no plans to sell off the Poly campus, close the school or change its demographics.
“There is absolutely no plan to sell Poly’s facilities,” said John Beckman, a spokesman for NYU. “The agreement assumes that the Poly site will continue to be the home of the engineering program.”
Polytechnic President Jerry Hultin also said the alumni association fears are unfounded.
“NYU has a great need for a school of engineering and technology and they have offered to team up with us,” said Hultin. “There is a strong commitment from both presidents to maintain the school’s traditions as we grow.”
The Board of Trustees has also voted in support of the proposed merger and is expected to approve a final agreement, when one is presented.
The alumni rebellion has caused a stir — but not necessarily the one Likourezos sought. One fellow alum and current faculty member, Roger Roess, fired off an angry memo of his own that decried the Alumni Association’s position.
“[Likourezos] is simply orchestrating a campaign to derail the merger and has been doing so since Day 1,” he wrote in an e-mail to Likourezo, inviting him to “come and work” at Poly and see the need for new resources that the merger could bring before opposing it.
“Everyone has concerns,” said the ’64 alum. “But you have to weigh everything. Are we better off becoming a part of NYU and risking a piece of our identity, or are we better off doing what we are doing and taking the risk of battling a difficult financial position alone?”
