Leadership Transition for Rutgers University-New Brunswick

May 21, 2021

Members of the Rutgers Community:

After three years serving admirably as the chancellor of Rutgers University–New Brunswick, and many more as dean of the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, as interim chancellor of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, and as senior vice president for research and economic development, Chancellor Christopher Molloy will be stepping down and returning to the faculty at the School of Pharmacy.

Dr. Molloy’s excellence was exemplified by his management of the largest single merger in American higher education history when he led the integration of UMDNJ into Rutgers University. Throughout his career he has excelled in the lab, in the classroom, and in all of the leadership roles he has held. Importantly, he has maintained a steady hand as our university has navigated these challenging times.

I want to thank Chris and acknowledge his enormous contribution to the University. Anyone who has ever spoken with Chris knows his love for Rutgers, his alma mater. Over the past several months, he and I have had many conversations about the most effective structure of the chancellor role in New Brunswick, and his insights have greatly informed our next steps.

I am appointing Dr. Francine Conway, currently the provost for Rutgers–New Brunswick, to a newly structured role as chancellor-provost, a position that will have a new portfolio, effective July 1. This title is intended to recognize the centrality of the academic mission to this role. In orienting the chancellor-provost role around the student and faculty academic experience, I am tasking Dr. Conway to capitalize on the vast resources and the enormous potential of New Brunswick to be a national leader in how we educate our students, support our faculty, and enrich the broader community.

Fran has been an invaluable resource to the University. In addition to serving as provost, she is a scholar and clinical psychologist widely recognized for her work in child psychopathology, with an appointment as distinguished professor in the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (GSAPP). She is a graduate of Cornell University and Columbia University, and earned her doctoral degree from Adelphi University where she later served on the faculty for 13 years. Dr. Conway has gained national and international recognition for her work on the psychodynamic treatment of children with ADHD. She is the editor or author of numerous scholarly works including Cultivating Compassion: A Psychodynamic Understanding of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Before being appointed as provost, she served as dean of GSAPP.

Since my arrival at Rutgers, I have stressed the need for clarity around our collective mission and for Rutgers to strive for academic excellence. As Dr. Conway transitions into her new role, we will be working closely together to position this redefined role for success. I know you will join me in my optimism for the good work ahead for Rutgers–New Brunswick and the leadership that Dr. Conway will bring to her new role.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Holloway
President and University Professor