Tonya Smith-Jackson Appointed Chancellor of Rutgers University–Newark

May 29, 2025

Members of the Rutgers Community,

After a year-long national search marked by tremendous participation across Rutgers University–Newark, I am delighted to join with President-Designate William F. Tate IV in announcing the appointment of Tonya Smith-Jackson as Chancellor of Rutgers–Newark, effective August 1.

Currently Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A&T), the nation’s largest HBCU, Dr. Smith-Jackson is a human factors engineer and a supremely talented and effective higher education leader. She was selected from among a stellar group of finalists recruited by the search committee chaired by Professor Salamishah Tillet and Executive Vice President Prabhas Moghe, emerging as the clear choice to lead Rutgers–Newark and build on its momentum as a Top 50 public research university and model anchor institution.

Dr. Smith-Jackson, who holds a doctorate in psychology/ergonomics and an interdisciplinary Master of Science degree in psychology and industrial engineering, has served at NC A&T since 2013, where she chaired its Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. At the university, she also directed a cybersecurity center, the Human Factors Analytics Lab, and the laboratory for Cyber-Human Analytics Research for the Internet of Things. In her current role, Dr. Smith-Jackson has been responsible for, among other accomplishments, the creation of three new doctoral programs, the state’s first bachelor's degree program in artificial intelligence, and dramatic increases in both research staff and graduate assistants at NC A&T.

Prior to NC A&T, she served on the Industrial and Systems Engineering faculty at Virginia Tech for 14 years, worked as an engineer at IBM and Ericsson Mobile Communications, and taught at several other higher education institutions. She also served for a year at the National Science Foundation (2018-19) as program director in the NSF’s Cyber-Human Systems Program.

Tonya Smith-Jackson is a person of principles and values who has dedicated her professional life to making transformative changes in higher education, and she is deeply committed to the mission of Rutgers University–Newark. President-Designate Tate and I have met with her and are excited for the energy, wisdom, talent, and leadership that Dr. Smith-Jackson will bring to her role as Chancellor.

I am deeply grateful to Interim Chancellor Jeffrey Robinson for the phenomenal job he has done in leading Rutgers–Newark over the past year—and for Jeff’s willingness to extend his interim appointment through July.  I also want to thank Salamishah, Prabhas, and all the members of the search committee for their dedication and teamwork, which have resulted in such an exciting appointment.

Please join us in welcoming Chancellor Tonya Smith-Jackson to Rutgers this summer.

Sincerely,
 
Jonathan Holloway
President and University Professor