Dive Brief:

• A task force is recommending that Rutgers University simplify its complex governance, including cutting the number of trustees on its board from 59 to between 36 and 43.
• The task force’s report is seven months old, but it was released this week only after New Jersey’s Senate president demanded it in a hearing last week.
• The 15-page report recommends nearly 20 changes to Rutgers’ governing boards, including overhauling the committee system and reducing the number of voting members on the board of trustees.

Dive Insight:

According to The Star-Ledger, the recommendation to cut the number of trustees would be accomplished through attrition over four or five years. Besides fighting over the release of the task force report, Senate President Stephen Sweeney has been battling Rutgers officials over legislation he proposed that would add political appointees to the 15-member board of governors. Last year, he proposed eliminating the board of trustees entirely, which led to campus protests.