William F. Tate IV, president of the Louisiana State University system, Monday was named as the 22nd president of Rutgers University, ending a national search for the next leader of New Jersey’s largest university.
Tate will officially take over on July 1, succeeding Jonathan Holloway who served as the state university of New Jersey’s first African-American president for five years. Holloway announced he was stepping down as president in September.
“I am honored to join the Rutgers family, where the Rutgers Edge is more than a concept. It is reflected in a history of leading with outstanding research, clinical excellence, insightful pedagogy, innovative partnerships and storied athletic feats,” President-designate Tate said on the Rutgers website. “Together, we have an opportunity to align our efforts and push to greater levels of impact. We can compete and win at new heights if we work together.”
The Rutgers Board of Governors, with the advice and consent of the Rutgers Board of Trustees, approved Tate’s appointment at a joint meeting of the two boards. The board of governors also appointed Tate as a university professor and distinguished professor.
“When the presidential search committee began the search for Rutgers’ next president, with community input, we sought a transformative leader who embodies Rutgers’ values and our multi-campus identity – someone who is intentional, collaborative and unafraid to think big – someone who understands well the broad, higher education environment and sees the unique opportunities for Rutgers to succeed through it all. Dr. Tate is that extraordinary leader, a scholar, an innovator and a transformative force whose vision will unite academic excellence with public impact,” said Board of Governors Chair Amy L. Towers on the university’s website.
Tate will oversee one of the oldest (founded in 1766) and largest universities in the nation, with more than 69,000 students on campuses in New Brunswick, Piscataway, Newark, and Camden.
Tate’s base annual salary will be $1.1 million, Rutgers officials said. His contract will include opportunities for additional bonus pay.
Tate has been president of LSU since 2021 when he became the school’s first African-American president. The LSU system has more than 55,000 students, including 12,000 graduate students and 2,000 professional students in the university health centers. LSU is a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), one of the most prominent athletic conferences in college athletics.
He also serves as the chief executive and academic officer of both the LSU system and the LSU flagship campus in Baton Rouge, holds faculty appointments in sociology, psychiatry and behavioral medicine, epidemiology, and population and public health at the Baton Rouge campus, LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, and Pennington Biomedical Research Center.
Before joining LSU, Tate served as executive vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of South Carolina, where he also held the Education Foundation Distinguished University Professorship. Previous to that, he was a department chair and dean of the graduate school and vice provost for graduate education at Washington University in St. Louis from 2002 to 2020. In addition, he held the Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professorship in Arts & Sciences. Before joining Washington University in St. Louis, he served as the William L. and Betty F. Adams Chair at Texas Christian University (TCU) and as a tenured faculty member at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Tate earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Northern Illinois University, a master’s in mathematical sciences education from the University of Texas at Dallas, and a doctorate in mathematics education from the University of Maryland.
Tate’s selection follows the efforts of a 20-member presidential search committee that convened last fall when Holloway announced he was stepping down. The committee represented a cross-section of Rutgers’ campuses and constituencies, including students, staff, faculty, alumni, and community partners. The committee was co-chaired by Towers and Alberto Cuitiño, dean of the school of engineering.
