Rutgers Board of Directors announces members of presidential search committee

Presidential search website now live, schedule of in-person town halls released

The Rutgers University Board of Governors today announced the twenty members of the Presidential Search Committee charged with selecting the final candidates to become the 22nd president of the State University of New Jersey. Membership was selected through a deliberate and thorough process to ensure balanced representation of Rutgers campuses and constituencies.

The committee will be chaired by Amy L. Towers, chair of the Rutgers Board of Governors, and Alberto Cuitiño, dean of the School of Engineering, and will work with WittKieffer, the executive search firm appointed by the Board of Governors to lead the national search. The committee will play a key role in providing input, vetting potential candidates and choosing a leader who can provide purposeful leadership, direction and continuity during a defining moment in the university’s history. Ultimately, the next university president will be chosen by a vote of the Rutgers Board of Governors.

“The Board of Directors and the Presidential Search Committee are committed to facilitating a collaborative, open process that welcomes, values ​​and considers input from the entire Rutgers community. We want everyone to have the opportunity to be heard,” Towers said. “We are fortunate to have assembled a committee that truly reflects the best of Rutgers, individuals who bring different perspectives, ideas, experience and knowledge and are representative of the community, to ensure we identify the right person to to lead the university. to the future.”

Committee members were selected through a deliberative process in which major campus entities and governing bodies at Rutgers submitted nominations. These entities included each chancellor-led unit, the University Senate, the Boards of Trustees and the Board of Trustees, the Rutgers University Foundation, and the Rutgers Alumni Association Board of Directors. The committee co-chairs then selected members from the pool of nominees to ensure that the composition of the committee is representative of Rutgers’ diverse community and includes faculty, staff, and students from a range of academic disciplines, administrative areas, and levels of experience and tenure. , along with alumni and community partners.

Rutgers Presidential Search Committee

Amy L. TowersCo-chair of the committee, Chairman of the Rutgers Board of Directors

Alberto CuitiñoCo-chair of the committee, Dean, Rutgers School of Engineering

Matt Colagiovanni Deputy Athletic Director, Facilities, Capital Projects and Internal Operations

Then DiFilippo, Chairman of the Rutgers University Foundation Board of directors

Monica Driscoll, Distinguished professor of molecular biology and biochemistry

Marika Dunn, Executive Director, Research Relations, Rutgers Office of Research

Lucille Foster, Chairman, Rutgers University Senate

Parimal Garg, Partner, Lowenstein Sandler

Oscar Holmes, Assoc. Professor and director of the Rutgers University Student Executive (RUSE) program

Frank Hundley Fmr. Member of the Boards of Directors, Trustee Emeritus

Manuel Jimenez, Assoc. Professor of Pediatrics & Family Medicine and Community Health, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

Kenneth Johnson, Vice Chairman of the Rutgers Board of Trustees

Mark Manigan, Member of the Rutgers Board of Directors; President and CEO, RWJBarnabas Health

Rebecca Mezei, Graduate student, Rutgers Law School

Jose Ramirez-Garofalo, Graduate student, Rutgers School of Graduate Studies

Savayra Rao, Student, Rutgers University–Newark; Vice President, Rutgers-Newark Student Governing Association

Alejandro Ruiz, Executive Director, Rutgers Environmental Health and Safety; University Safety Officer

Jaideep Vaidya, Distinguished Professor of Computer Information Systems, Rutgers University; Director, Rutgers Institute for Data Science, Learning, and Applications

Gloria Vanderham, Chairman of the Rutgers University Alumni Association

Nyeema Watson, Sr. Vice Chancellor, Strategy, Diversity and Community Engagement, Rutgers University-Camden

“The Presidential Search Committee plays an important role in charting Rutgers’ course and taking the university to new heights,” Cuitiño said. “We will work together to guide WittKieffer’s search, evaluate potential candidates, promote thoughtful discussion and recommend a list of finalists to the Board of Directors for consideration and approval.”

As part of its commitment to fostering an inclusive search process that prioritizes engagement within the Rutgers community, the committee invites community members to participate in a series of in-person town hall and listening sessions on campus, which will be managed by WittKieffer. The original schedule of town halls is described below. More sessions will be announced as they are scheduled.

City Hall program

New Brunswick: Tuesday December 3 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM Richard Weeks Hall of Engineering, Room 102

Newark: Wednesday December 4 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM, Paul Robeson Student Center. Essex room

Camden:Thursday December 5 12:45-2:15 p.mCamden Campus Center, Multifunctional room

Members of the university community are also encouraged to join the Presidential Search website where they can learn more about the search process, view a schedule of upcoming town hall and listening sessions, receive updates, and complete an on-campus feedback survey. They can also provide input to the Presidential Search Committee via e-mail.

Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway announced in September that he will step down effective June 30, 2025, after serving in his current role for five years. The goal of the Executive Board is to complete the search, interview and select candidates and have the successor ready to start on July 1, 2025.

More information about the Rutgers Presidential Search can be found here: https://presidentialsearch.rutgers.edu.

To provide input and feedback to the Presidential Search Committee, please email: [email protected].