How will you spend your Thanksgiving break?
NYU recently announced that it has resumed discussions with Polytechnic University, a private engineering college in Brooklyn, about a possible merger.
Polytechnic is the second oldest private engineering school in the U.S. A merger was discussed three years ago, but talks fell apart.
NYU has not had its own engineering program since it disbanded the College of Engineering more than 30 years ago, when it sold its University Heights Campus in the Bronx to the City University of New York.
With the renewed discussions with Polytechnic, NYU President John Sexton wrote in a recent university-wide e-mail that the merger could provide "renowned experts in multimedia[,] ... new advances in biomedical science and engineering[,] ... ready access to engineering courses and programs [and] a wonderful neighborhood to be a part of in the future."
Additionally, when the College of Engineering disbanded, a number of NYU faculty relocated to Polytechnic; the merger "would not be only an act of uniting, but also an act of re-uniting," Sexton said.
If the merger goes through, Polytechnic would ultimately become a school or institute of NYU, much like NYU's Institute of Fine Arts, university spokesman John Beckman said in an e-mail.
If the merger is completed, applicants will initially continue to apply directly to Polytechnic, Beckman said. Over time, the admissions processes would become more integrated, he said.
Polytechnic would also initially continue to issue diplomas. Eventually, Polytechnic students would receive NYU diplomas listing the school they graduated from - similar to NYU's other schools and programs.
NYU currently has a five-year dual-degree program with the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J., where students can earn a Bachelor of Science degree from the College of Arts and Science and a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Stevens. Stevens students can also take classes at NYU, although they are restricted to classes at the College of Arts and Science and can only take one class per term.
"We are still reviewing our relationship with Stevens, and how that might be affected," Beckman said. "However, there will be no effect on those students currently enrolled in the joint program."
In an interview with the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Jerry Hultin, Polytechnic's president, said, "Polytech will move forward faster and NYU will be closer to the comprehensive university they want to be, and it's good for Brooklyn."
NYU's School of Medicine was also formed as the result of a merger.
Lia Casale is deputy news editor. E-mail her at lcasale@nyunews.com
