Holloway not renewing presidential tenure in 2025
University President Jonathan Holloway is not renewing his presidential tenure as his five-year term comes to a close, he announced in a University-wide email on Tuesday.
"This decision is my own and reflects my ruminations about how best to be of service," Holloway clarified before recalling his administrative achievements.
Holloway made the announcement ahead of the University's Board of Trustees meeting later in the day but reportedly disclosed his intentions previously to Board of Governors Chair Amy Towers in August, concluding his unprecedented term on June 30, 2025. After a one-year sabbatical, Holloway intends to return as a professor.
Holloway, who took on the presidential role at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in July 2020, also made history as the University's first Black president. His administration drew ire and praise around its response to the pandemic, the University's first faculty strike in history, pro-Palestinian protests and encampments, a subsequent subpoena to Congress and University records broken, including the three campuses' highest academic rankings and largest first-year enrollment.
Speculations arose earlier this year when Yale Daily News pondered Holloway's hypothetical return to his alma mater. A September article by the New Jersey Globe reignited rumors, this time supported by claims from "sources with knowledge of Holloway's internal conversations."
Reactions around the University community appear to be mixed, based on comments underneath an Instagram announcement by the University, with some writing "Thank God," among other comments.
After the news broke, the Rutgers chapter of the American Association of University Professors and American Federation of Teachers (AAUP-AFT) released a statement on the impending conclusion of Holloway's presidential term. Rutgers AAUP-AFT and national AAUP President Todd Wolfson, an associate professor in the Department of Journalism and Media Studies, reviewed the maturity of his legacy.
"When (Holloway) came to Rutgers four years ago, we welcomed him and his promise to bring a new direction to many initiatives we value at our University — particularly his promise to build a better, more collaborative relationship with our unions," he said. "We were sorely disappointed that he didn't take the opportunity to lead his administration in this way."
Wolfson also expressed his hope for Holloway's replacement and their relationship with the University's unions after the 2023 faculty strike.
Rutgers University Student Assembly President Jack Ramirez, a School of Arts and Sciences senior, reflected on his own interactions with the departing president, comparing himself to Holloway as the two complete their terms one month apart.
"Learning from (Holloway) in this role has been an honor of a lifetime," Ramirez wrote in an Instagram post. "He has been a true friend in this process for a better, more excellent community, and while we may not have always seen eye-to-eye, we always knew at the end of the day, we are doing it for Scarlet Knights."
A University spokesperson informed The Daily Targum that the Board of Governors would be responsible for finding Holloway's successor, and Holloway, who remains in his position until June 2025, is still appointing Rutgers—Newark's chancellor, opening up two major administrative spots for the upcoming academic year.
