Rutgers’ unique history as a colonial college, a land-grant institution, and a state university, helped shape its current governance structure. From its founding as Queen’s College in 1766 until it was reorganized as The State University of New Jersey in 1956, Rutgers was governed by a Board of Trustees.
In 1956, state law created the Rutgers University Board of Governors as the governing body of the university and kept the Board of Trustees in an advisory capacity with certain fiduciary responsibilities. Rutgers president Richard L. McCormick implements board policies with the help and advice of members of the President’s Cabinet and other senior administrators in the President’s Administrative Council.