Rutgers University President William F. Tate IV announced that he has made two executive appointments. Kimberly Lewis has been named executive vice president (EVP) and chief administrative officer, and Dr. Keena Arbuthnot was appointed executive vice president for Academic Affairs and chief academic officer.
“A core goal of my presidency will be to ensure that the central offices deliver the best possible support and service to the academic, research and clinical mission of Rutgers University,” said Tate.
Lewis will oversee the administrative activities of the university. She will focus on institutional planning and operations and university finance and administration, which includes University Human Resources and the Office of Information Technology.
She brings extensive experience in state government and higher education. Most recently, Lewis served as the chief administrative officer at Louisiana State University, where she oversaw all financial and administrative strategy.
Her leadership advanced staff compensation, strengthened financial planning and modeling, and expanded insurance coverage amid regional risk. Her work contributed to LSU’s strong ratings from Fitch and Moody’s — even under projected fiscal stress.
Additionally, Lewis was the chief executive officer for Louisiana’s Department of Revenue, overseeing $10 billion in state tax revenue and chaired a national tax policy organization.
As executive vice president for Academic Affairs and chief academic officer, Dr. Arbuthnot will oversee the university’s central academic and research policy and support functions. She will work closely with the chancellors, provosts and academic leaders to drive forward Rutgers’ academic priorities.
She will also oversee the university’s tenure and appointments process, build a data-driven academic enterprise to support student and faculty success and partner with Senior Vice President for Research, Dr. Michael Zwick, to advance the university’s research agenda.
Dr. Arbuthnot, a scholar with expertise in educational measurement, applied statistics and program evaluation, joins Rutgers following her service as vice president and chief data officer, dean of the Pinkie Gordon Lane Graduate School, and Joan Pender McManus Distinguished Professor of Education at Louisiana State University.
In these roles, she led the Office of Data and Strategic Analytics, where she advanced efforts to modernize data infrastructure, developed and promoted artificial intelligence initiatives and programs, and aligned institutional data with strategic planning. Her work supported academic and capital planning, student success initiatives and advancement strategies in philanthropy and government relations. As dean of the Graduate School, she championed efforts to better support doctoral students and graduate students in terminal degree programs.
“Putting an exceptional leadership team in place will help us bring even more success and overcome the challenges that could prevent it,” said Tate.
