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Rutgers Boards Appoint William F. Tate IV University's 22nd President
May 19, 2025
Dear Members of the Rutgers Community,
We are pleased to announce that the Rutgers University Board of Governors, with consent of the Rutgers Board of Trustees, today appointed Dr. William F. Tate IV the 22nd president of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. He will begin serving as president on July 1, 2025.
Dr. Tate is currently the president of Louisiana State University (LSU), where he has led one of the country’s largest and most complex public university systems, encompassing multiple campuses, academic health system partnerships, and the flagship institution in Baton Rouge. He brings with him to Rutgers a bold and strategic vision that prioritizes research, faculty and student success, academic access, and institutional excellence.
When the presidential search committee began the search for Rutgers’ next president with your input, we sought a transformative leader who embodies Rutgers’ values and our multi-campus identity: someone who is intentional, collaborative, and unafraid to think big—someone who understands well the broad, higher education environment and sees the unique opportunities for Rutgers to succeed through it all. Dr. Tate is that extraordinary leader, a scholar, an innovator, and a transformative force whose vision will unite academic excellence with public impact.
The 20-member presidential search committee convened last fall and represented a cross-section of Rutgers’ diverse campuses and constituencies, including students, staff, faculty, alumni, and community partners. The thorough, thoughtful and deliberative process yielded an exceptional pool of highly qualified, talented candidates with an enthusiasm for Rutgers—a testament to Rutgers’ world-class reputation. I want to express my deep gratitude and appreciation for the members of the search committee, for their time and commitment to integrity and inclusiveness. Special thanks to Co-Chair Alberto Cuitiño, Dean of the School of Engineering, for his especially insightful leadership. The greatest thanks and appreciation are for you—our Rutgers community—for your suggestions, engagement in our search process, and for together creating the dynamic, vibrant community that is so compelling, especially to our new president.
Before moving to LSU, Dr. Tate served in faculty and leadership roles at the University of South Carolina, Washington University in St. Louis, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and the National Academy of Education and the recipient of numerous research recognitions.
As chief executive and academic officer of both the LSU system and flagship campus, Dr. Tate has overseen a public research institution with over 55,000 undergraduate and graduate students, 3,000 full-time faculty, an endowment valued at over $900 million, and more than 200 active licenses, while holding faculty appointments in sociology, psychiatry and behavioral medicine, epidemiology, and public health. I am confident that Dr. Tate’s strategic vision and approach to leadership make him very much the right leader at the right moment for Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
Please join me in welcoming Dr. Tate to Rutgers, The State University.
Very truly yours,
Amy L. Towers
Chair, Rutgers Board of Governors
Co-chair, Rutgers Presidential Search Committee
Candidate Reviews Underway
March 11, 2025
Dear Rutgers Community Colleagues,
We want to keep you updated and informed on the progress of the search for the 22nd President of our University. Our search firm, WittKieffer, has received many excellent candidate submissions — a testament to the attractiveness of the position and the strength of the University and our Rutgers community. The Presidential Search Committee will meet with WittKieffer this Thursday, March 13, to read and review the candidate profiles and select candidates to be interviewed in the first round of our search process to be completed later this month. Thank you for supporting the Search Committee through this process, we look forward to completing a successful search together.
Sincerely,
Amy Towers
Chair, Board of Governors
Co-chair, Rutgers Presidential Search Committee
Alberto Cuitiño
Dean, School of Engineering
Co-chair, Rutgers Presidential Search Committee
Announcing the Presidential Leadership Profile for Rutgers’ 22nd President
December 20, 2024
The Presidential Search Committee has conducted nearly 20 listening sessions and in-person and virtual town halls in recent weeks and heard directly from more than 600 members of the Rutgers University community. Your collective input, grounded in a deep understanding of Rutgers’ values and needs, has been instrumental in shaping the development of a presidential Leadership Profile that the Presidential Search Committee and our search firm partner, WittKieffer, are excited to share with you today. This profile lays out the qualities and qualifications we expect in Rutgers’ 22nd president and will guide WittKieffer’s nationwide search to commence in the new year. Read the full announcement.
Updates on the Presidential Search
December 16, 2024
The Presidential Search Committee shares a number of updates regarding the progress of the search for a new president of Rutgers, including details of the committee’s first meeting, the expectations of the committee and its formal charge, and themes emerging from the listening sessions held across campus. The committee will meet next in February to receive an update from WittKieffer on the status of the search, and participate in training workshops in preparation for candidate interviews. Read the full announcement.
Presidential Search Town Halls Begin This Week
December 2, 2024
Members of the Rutgers community are invited to participate in a series of in-person and virtual listening sessions that begin Tuesday, December 3, at Rutgers–New Brunswick as the university presidential search moves forward. Town halls will take place across Rutgers in December to provide community members the opportunity to offer input on the qualities and characteristics important in the next president of Rutgers University. Read the full announcement and the news release.
Rutgers Board of Governors Announces Members of Presidential Search Committee
November 27, 2024
The Rutgers University Board of Governors announced the 20 members of the Presidential Search Committee tasked with selecting the final candidates to become the State University of New Jersey’s 22nd president. Membership was selected through a deliberate and thorough process to ensure balanced representation from across Rutgers’ campuses and constituencies. The Committee invites members of the community to participate in a series of in-person campus town hall and listening sessions to be administered by WittKieffer. The initial schedule of town halls was announced. Read the full announcement and the news release.
Rutgers Board of Governors Announces Search Firm, Initiates University President Search Process
October 31, 2024
The Rutgers University Board of Governors has retained the services of WittKieffer, a highly regarded search firm with extensive experience leading executive searches on behalf of large public universities, to engage in a comprehensive and thorough nationwide search for the 22nd president of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. The board’s announcement officially initiates the process of selecting a successor to President Jonathan Holloway, who announced last month that he would step down on June 30, 2025. Read the full announcement.