Rutgers University President Robert L. Barchi addresses the media as Rutgers University Board of Governors Chair Ralph Izzo looks on during a press conference at Rutgers University announcing the resignation of Athletic Director Tim Pernetti on April 5, 2013 in New Brunswick, New Jersey. (credit; Andy Marlin/Getty Images)

NEW YORK (AP) - A string of embarrassments in Rutgers Universitys athletic department has brought calls for the ouster of the schools neuroscientist president, but for many looking at the institutions future, theres a bigger concern: helping it seamlessly absorb two medical schools and other institutions in coming months.

The integration, which was pitched by Gov. Chris Christie and approved by lawmakers in hopes that it would be a key step toward making Rutgers into a medical science research powerhouse, is to be formalized next month. Making sure it stays on course is one reason Christie and others have given for standing behind President Robert Barchi.

Clearly, decisions could have been made better and more thoughtfully, but thats not the threshold criteria by which we ought to remove university presidents, former Gov. Jim McGreevey said at a forum of his counterparts last week in Newark. The restructuring will clearly outlast this presidency, and frankly, this governorship will determine whether New Jersey is academically competitive in the physical sciences, in medical sciences and in mathematics for the next half-century.

Once the merger happens, Barchi, 66, will be left with two more main tasks: fully integrating the operations of the medical schools into Rutgers, something expected to take as long as two years. Hes also planning to deliver a strategic plan by December laying out the universitys next steps in increasing its profile.

The athletics problems came to light in April when a video was made public showing then-basketball coach Mike Rice berating players with gay slurs, throwing balls at them, and kicking and shoving them during practices from 2010 to last year. Barchi had him fired within days after the video came to light. The same week, the universitys athletic director and top in-house lawyer resigned, under pressure, for not getting rid of Rice last year when they first saw the footage. Instead, Rice was suspended and ordered to anger management counseling at the time.

Julie Hermann, a top athletic department official at the University of Louisville, was named the new athletic director May 15.

But last week came the revelation that players on the University of Tennessee volleyball team she coached in 1997 complained she had been verbally and emotionally abusive. They said in a letter at the time that she called them whores, alcoholics and learning disabled. Hermann has denied that and said that she had not heard of the letter until last week.

Barchi said last week that Hermann would still start at Rutgers as scheduled June 17.

State Sen. Barbara Buono, who is expected to win the Democratic nomination for governor in a primary election Tuesday, said last week that she has lost all confidence in Barchi. While some other members of her party have also called for Barchi to lose his job, one prominent Democrat, state Senate President Stephen Sweeney, stopped short of that after a private meeting with him Friday.

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Merger Of Two Medical Schools Insulates Rutgers President