Inauguration of Jonathan Scott Holloway

Inauguration of Jonathan Scott Holloway
November 5, 2021

Sixteen months after taking office, Dr. Jonathan Holloway was ceremonially inaugurated as the 21st President of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, on November 5, 2021. The Rutgers community celebrated this historic investiture with two days of events, including an Excellence Fest street festival, a virtual academic panel on the value of public service hosted by President Holloway, and a formal inauguration ceremony at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, livestreamed to gatherings on all Rutgers campuses.

The inauguration ushers in a year-long series of public events to be held across the university focused on the inaugural theme Rutgers: This is what Excellence looks like.

Watch the recording of the inauguration, download the program, or read the transcript of his speech.

Other Inauguration Highlights

"Scarlet and Black: Today's Gift"

Read the poem Rutgers graduate Alyea Pierce recited to honor Jonathan Scott Holloway at the Excellence Fest street festival on the eve of his inauguration.

... In Service to the Common Good

Watch an academic panel moderated by President Holloway on the value of public service. Panelists include:
- Joan T.A. Gabel, president, University of Minnesota
- Thomas H. Kean, former governor of New Jersey
- Rajiv Vinnakota, president, Institute for Citizens and Scholars

A Celebration of Excellence

See a video highlighting all the events across Rutgers on November 4 and 5, 2021, marking the inauguration of President Holloway.

Inauguration Photos

President Holloway posing with the Scarlet Knight

President Holloway with the cheerleading team

President Holloway admires the creation of his image out of Rubik Cubes by Dylan Sadiq (SOE '22) at the Excellence Fest

Students taking a selfie with President Holloway

President Holloway, Elizabeth Alexander, Aisling Colón and Justin talking

Jonathan Holloway sit with a group of people

Delegates at the int inauguration ceremony

Rutgers University Voorhees Choir singing

President Holloway receiving the Presidential Medallion

Emerson Holloway and Aisling Colon at the inauguration ceremony

President Jonathan Scott Holloway receives a standing ovation at the conclusion of his inaugural address

President Holloway has some fun with the Scarlet Knight on stage at Excellence Fest, a community street festival featuring performances, games, food, and music, held on Thursday, November 4.

Jonathan Holloway poses with the cheerleading squad at Excellence Fest.

During Excellence Fest, student Dylan Sadiq (SOE '22) uses Rubik’s Cubes to create a portrait of President Holloway.

President Holloway poses with students for selfies at Excellence Fest.

Guests pose with President Holloway at the beginning of the Inauguration Dinner held in the President’s Tent the evening before the ceremony.

Elizabeth Alexander, president of the Andrew Mellon Foundation, speaks with President Holloway, his wife Aisling Colón, and another guest at the Inauguration Dinner.

The academic panel and webinar "…In Service to the Common Good" includes (l to r) Thomas H. Kean, former governor of New Jersey; Joan Gabel, president, University of Minnesota; Rajiv Vinnakota, president, Institute for Citizens and Scholars; and President Holloway as moderator.

Medical students display their Excellence T-shirts at the inauguration watch party held on Busch campus.

Keith Bratcher

The inauguration processional participants include Rutgers faculty and staff and delegates of other colleges and universities from New Jersey and across the nation.

Chair of the Board of Governors Mark Angelson offers welcoming remarks to the inauguration audience.

On behalf of Rutgers students, Susan Badia, Class of 2022 and recipient of a Scarlet Promise Grant, delivers remarks at the inauguration.

New Jersey Governor Philip D. Murphy delivers remarks.

Rutgers University Voorhees Choir sings the hymn "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?" under the direction of Brandon Williams.

Dwight McBride, president of The New School, gives the keynote address and leads the audience in the first verse of the Black national anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing," in an emotional moment during the ceremony.

Tilak Lal, chair of the Board of Trustees, presents the Presidential Medallion to Jonathan Scott Holloway.

Daughter Emerson Holloway and wife Aisling Colón at the inaugural ceremony.

Jonathan Scott Holloway delivers his inaugural address, sharing, “When I look at Rutgers, I want to see a place that aspires boldly to be both a leading engine of world-changing research and a vehicle for social mobility for students across the socioeconomic spectrum. This is what excellence looks like.”

President Holloway thanks the Rutgers community as he finishes his inaugural address.

President Holloway receives a standing ovation at the conclusion of his inaugural address.

The Rutgers University Glee Club performs "On the Banks of the Old Raritan," Rutgers’ alma mater, with Patrick Gardner conducting.

Kimberlee Pastva, secretary of the university, carries the university mace, an ornamental staff symbolizing the authority of the president, and leads the recessional at the end of the ceremony.