LETTER FROM THE GOVERNOR TO THE CHAIRMAN OF THE RUTGERS BOARD OF GOVERNORS

TRENTON– Governor Jon S. Corzine and State Senator Raymond J. Lesniak today released the following letter to Dr. M. William Howard regarding the expansion of the Rutgers football stadium:

Dr. M. William Howard
Chairman
Board of Governors
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Office of the President
83 Somerset Street
New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901

December 5, 2007

Dear Dr. Howard,

We are writing to ask you to convey to the Board of Governors our intention to lead a fundraising campaign to raise $30 million in contributions for Rutgers’ project to expand the football stadium. Further, we are pleased to report that even before the public announcement of our campaign we have already identified $3 million in seed contributions.

As supporters of the University and the Football program and in recognition of the important contribution that the football program makes to the University and to the state as a whole, we are pleased to offer our support to this important project. We are convinced that the program will be greatly enhanced by allowing more Rutgers fans to attend home games and we share the belief that increased fan support will in turn help the Coach and the University to attract more outstanding student-athletes to Rutgers University. Operating under appropriate protocols to ensure consistency with applicable standards, we intend to complete our fundraising efforts by the beginning of August 2008.

We look forward to working together with President McCormick and Athletic Director Mulcahy to maximize our efforts while acting in coordination with the University.

Thank you for your support of the Stadium initiative and we are pleased to be able to contribute our efforts.

Sincerely yours,

Jon S. Corzine and Raymond J. Lesniak

Cc: Richard L. McCormick, President
Robert E. Mulcahy, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics

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Photos and audio and video clips from Governor Corzine's public events are available in the Governor's Newsroom section on the State of New Jersey web page, http://www.nj.gov/governor/news/