Dr. Jonathan Holloway, provost of Northwestern University, was on Tuesday named president of Rutgers University, becoming the New Jersey institution’s first Black leader.
Holloway, an expert in African American Studies and a trained U.S. historian, will begin serving as president on July 1.
He will replace Dr. Robert L. Barchi, who said in 2019 that the 2020 academic year will be his last as university president. He will also join the small number of minority university presidents in the country. Less than a fifth of the country’s college and university leadership positions are held by minorities, according to data from the American Council on Education. Of them, only 8% are Black, Afro-Caribbean or African American.
“Jonathan Holloway is an extraordinarily distinguished scholar with an outstanding record as an academic administrator at Northwestern and Yale,” said Rutgers Board of Governors Chair Mark Angelson in a statement.
“He is thoughtful, visionary, inclusive and decisive. He leads with remarkable integrity, and is just the right person to build upon Rutgers’ long tradition as an academic and research powerhouse,” Angelson added.
Holloway could not be reached for comment but in a press statement he said he “cannot wait to help write the next chapter” in the history of Rutgers.
“I was drawn to the opportunity at Rutgers University because of its amazing history, its foundation of excellence in teaching and its ambition to continue conducting life-changing research that improves our communities, our country and our world,” said Holloway.
