An appellate court heard arguments Tuesday morning on the removal of Heather Taylor from Rutgers University’s Board of Governors.
A judge removed Taylor from the Board in June after learning she had moved from Middlesex County to Monmouth County in 2020 — Taylor was theoretically obligated to reside in Middlesex County based on the statutory role she filled at the state university.
Attorneys for Taylor argue that she did not technically hold a public office and should not have been eligible for removal in that manner. Her attorneys argued Rutgers’ status as a hybrid public-private institution gives the university the authority to govern its own Board of Directors, at least in terms of whether members should be ousted.
The AAUP-AFT, which represents Rutgers faculty, initially filed the lawsuit to oust Taylor. A three-judge panel heard the appeal Tuesday.
Attorneys for Taylor and the AAUP-AFT disagreed on the nature of the residency requirement: Taylor’s attorneys argued the requirement only applies at the beginning of her term, while her opponents said the residency requirement is continuous throughout the term.
Taylor’s attorneys argued private litigants shouldn’t be able to remove Board members based on Rutgers’ agreement with legislators to become a land-grant university.
“Rutgers never agreed to allow private litigants a right to remove board members,” the attorney said.
The attorneys for the union argued that because the university receives so much in state aid, its deserves scrutiny.
“The question of who decides how those monies are allocated stand at the apex of matters that are in the public interest,” they wrote in a filing.