Rutgers University announced that Amy L. Towers was elected to a second one-year term as chair of the board of governors. The board also elected James F. Dougherty as vice chair at the June 17, 2025, board meeting. The terms begin July 1, 2025.
Towers, appointed by Gov. Phil Murphy to the board in 2020, co-chaired the presidential search committee that culminated in the selection of William F. Tate IV as Rutgers’ 22nd president, who begins his tenure on July 1, 2025.
Towers established The Nduna Foundation in 2007 to advance interventions in nutrition and public health, community redevelopment and human rights. During the past 20 years, she has served on several nonprofit boards ranging from community-based organizations to large national and multinational boards — including UNICEF and the CDC Foundation — providing leadership on international issues and public health.
“I want to thank the members of the board of governors for their continued support and trust as we work together to lead Rutgers through these challenging times in higher education. I am honored to continue to serve as chair for a second year, especially knowing the esteemed colleagues I serve with,” said Towers.
“I firmly believe that Rutgers is on a strong and exciting trajectory for the future, with the impressive faculty, staff and brilliant students creating a successful Rutgers community,” she added. “I look forward to working with incoming President Tate and his administration to build upon Rutgers’ national rankings and reputation as one of the country’s preeminent public academic research institutions of higher learning.”
Towers previously served as the chair of the Rutgers University Foundation board of directors and currently serves as the board chair of MANA Nutrition, and as a board member of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Institute of International Education, International Peace Institute and Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC). She was also a founding member of the board of advisors to The Elders, created by Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Richard Branson and Peter Gabriel to work for peace, justice, human rights and a sustainable planet.
A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Towers has been recognized for her humanitarian efforts around the globe. She is a recipient of UNICEF’s Audrey Hepburn Humanitarian Award and has also been recognized by the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation, the Elizabeth Glazer Pediatric AIDS Foundation, the International Center for Research on Women and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
Dougherty, a retired veterinarian and a board of trustees-appointed governor since 2020, is a two-time Rutgers alumnus, earning a B.A. in biological science from Rutgers College in 1974 and an M.S. in animal science from Rutgers Graduate School-New Brunswick the following year. He received his V.M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in 1980 and went on to cofound Metropolitan Veterinary Associates, which grew from three veterinarians to over 50 to provide 24/7 specialty, emergency and critical care.
Dougherty is an emeritus member and former chair of the board of trustees, where he also served as vice chair for two years, and an emeritus member of the Rutgers University Foundation board of directors. He currently serves as the chair of the Rutgers-Camden board of directors, a member of the Rowan University/Rutgers-Camden board of governors and on the School of Public Health’s dean’s leadership council. In 2019, he was honored with a Loyal Son of Rutgers award by the Rutgers Alumni Association.
“I am honored and humbled to be able to continue to serve my alma mater in this leadership role after serving on the board of trustees since 2012 and then the board of governors since 2020,” said Dougherty. “I am also excited to join our esteemed chair, Amy Towers, as she continues her exemplary leadership of this board, and our new president, Dr. William F. Tate IV, as he begins his tenure leading Rutgers University.”
A major supporter of The Honors College at Rutgers-New Brunswick since its launch in 2015, Dougherty has funded a general scholarship as well as the James F. Dougherty Study Abroad Endowed Scholarship. He is also a major supporter of the Rutgers School of Public Health, where he has endowed the Perry N. Halkitis Professorship in LGBTQ+ Public Health.
