NEW BRUNSWICK — In a deal that will allow Rutgers University to launch a new musical theater program, the university plans to contribute $17 million to a performing arts theater in downtown New Brunswick, pending approval from its Board of Governors.

The board is scheduled to vote Thursday on a partnership between the university, the New Brunswick Development Corporation and the New Brunswick Cultural Center. If approved, the plan will lead to the long-awaited $60 million, 60,000-square-foot New Brunswick Performing Arts Center opening in 2019.

“Rutgers students will have the opportunity to perform for a downtown audience, right next to a professional presenting house, the State Theatre,” said George Stauffer, dean of the Mason Gross School of the Arts.