Rutgers Board of Governors 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 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 will be co-chaired by Amy L. Towers, chair of the Rutgers Board of Governors, and Alberto Cuitiño, dean of the School of Engineering, and work with WittKieffer, the executive search firm retained by the Board of Governors to lead the nationwide 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 selected by vote of the Rutgers Board of Governors.
“The Board of Governors and the Presidential Search Committee are committed to facilitating a collaborative, open process that welcomes, values, and considers input from across the Rutgers community. We want everyone to have an opportunity to be heard,” said Towers. “We are fortunate to have assembled a Committee that truly reflects the best of Rutgers, individuals who bring with them diverse perspectives, ideas, experience, and knowledge, and are representative of the community, to ensure we identify the right person to lead the university into the future.”
Members of the Committee were selected through a deliberative process in which key campus entities and governing bodies across Rutgers submitted nominations. These entities included each Chancellor-led unit, the University Senate, the Boards of Governors and Board of Trustees, Rutgers University Foundation, and the Rutgers Alumni Association Board of Directors, among others. The Committee co-chairs then selected the members from the pool of nominees to ensure the Committee’s composition 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. Towers, Committee Co-Chair, Chair, Rutgers Board of Governors
Alberto Cuitiño, Committee Co-Chair, Dean, Rutgers School of Engineering
Matt Colagiovanni Deputy Athletic Director, Facilities, Capital Projects and Internal Operations
Dan DiFilippo, Chair, Rutgers University Foundation Board of Directors
Monica Driscoll, Distinguished Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
Marika Dunn, Executive Director, Research Relationships, Rutgers Office of Research
Lucille Foster, Chair, Rutgers University Senate
Parimal Garg, Partner, Lowenstein Sandler
Oscar Holmes, Assoc. Professor & Director, Rutgers University Student Executive (RUSE) Program
Frank Hundley, Fmr. Member of the Governing Boards, Trustee Emeritus
Manuel Jimenez, Assoc. Professor, Pediatrics & Family Medicine and Community Health, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Kenneth Johnson, Vice Chair, Rutgers Board of Trustees
Mark Manigan, Member, Rutgers Board of Governors; President & CEO, RWJBarnabas Health
Rebecca Mezei, Graduate Student, Rutgers Law School
Jose Ramirez-Garofalo, Graduate Student, Rutgers School of Graduate Studies
Savayra Rao, Undergraduate 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, Computer Information Systems, Rutgers University; Director, Rutgers Institute for Data Science, Learning, and Applications
Gloria Vanderham, Chair, Rutgers University Alumni Association
Nyeema Watson, Sr. Vice Chancellor, Strategy, Diversity and Community Engagement, Rutgers University-Camden
“The Presidential Search Committee serves an important role in charting Rutgers’ course and lifting the university to new heights,” said Cuitiño. “We will work together to guide WittKieffer’s search, evaluate potential candidates, foster thoughtful discussion, and recommend a list of finalists to the Board of Governors for its consideration and approval.”
As part of its commitment to fostering an inclusive search process that prioritizes engagement across the Rutgers community, 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 is outlined below with more sessions to be announced as they are scheduled.
Town Hall Schedule
New Brunswick: Tuesday, December 3, 3:30-5:00 p.m. Richard Weeks Hall of Engineering, Room 102
Newark: Wednesday, December 4, 2:00-3:30 p.m., Paul Robeson Student Center. Essex Room
Camden: Thursday, December 5, 12:45-2:15 p.m.Camden Campus Center, Multi-purpose Room
Members of the university community are also encouraged to visit the Presidential Search website where they can find more information on the search process, view a schedule of upcoming town hall and listening sessions, receive updates, and complete a campus feedback survey. They can also provide input to the Presidential Search Committee via email.
Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway announced in September that he will step down effective June 30, 2025, after serving five years in his current role. The Board of Governors’ goal is to complete the search, interview candidates, select and have the successor ready to start by 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, email at: presidentialsearch@rutgers.edu.
