News From the Board of Governors: February 2026
Credit: Nick Romanenko/Rutgers University
Antonio M. Calcado Lauded for Decades of Service to Rutgers
The Board of Governors honored Antonio M. Calcado for his more than 30 years of service to Rutgers, overseeing the university’s institutional planning, emergency management – including the university’s response during the COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricane Sandy – transportation, housing, construction, public safety, and emergency services.
Physician-Scientist Is Appointed Omar Boraie Endowed Chair in Molecular Medicine
Joseph Contessa, an internationally recognized physician-scientist whose work bridges laboratory discovery and patient care, has been appointed the Omar Boraie Endowed Chair in Molecular Medicine at Rutgers University for a five-year renewable term.
The Omar Boraie Endowed Chair in Molecular Medicine was established through a gift from real-estate developer Omar Boraie to advance cancer research and its potential for translating scientific breakthroughs into patient therapies and to support New Brunswick in its transformation into a health care city. The gift was matched by an anonymous donor as part of the fundraising campaign, Our Rutgers, Our Future: A Campaign for Excellence.
Contessa is the chair of radiation oncology for the Rutgers Cancer Institute, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. He also serves as associate director for translational research at the Rutgers Cancer Institute, New Jersey’s only National Cancer Institute–designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, together with RWJBarnabas Health.
Contessa’s research focuses on defining the adaptive mechanisms tumors use to become resistant to therapy, with the goal of identifying new therapeutic approaches in oncology. His work has advanced understanding of how tumors respond to radiation and how targeted molecular interventions may improve therapeutic outcomes. He has authored more than 80 peer-reviewed publications in scientific journals.
New Degrees Established
The Board of Governors approved two new degree programs, providing students with opportunities in the fields of management and financial technology.
The new degrees are:
- A Bachelor of Science in Management and Work in the School of Management and Labor Relations at Rutgers University-New Brunswick and
- A Master of Science in FinTech Analytics in the School of Graduate Studies
The School of Management and Labor Relations program was created to prepare students to lead and develop solutions that arise from the inter-related, dynamic forces that affect the motivation and effectiveness of today’s workforce while also anticipating and planning for the needs of tomorrow’s workers, organizations, and society.
The master’s degree program in the School of Graduate Studies has been designed to prepare graduates with advanced skills and knowledge in financial technology, data analytics, artificial intelligence, and blockchain, positioning them to excel in the dynamic and rapidly evolving industry of FinTech.
On Jan. 13, the Committee on Academic and Student Affairs reviewed both proposals and recommended their approval to the Board of Governors.
