Rutgers University has hired WittKieffer, a national search firm experienced in finding leaders for large public universities, to help find its next president, the school announced Thursday.
The Rutgers Board of Governors hired the firm to help replace President Jonathan Holloway, who announced in September he would step down in June after five years leading the state university.
The board plans for the next president to be in place by July 1.
“This is an important time for Rutgers University and an opportunity for Rutgers to chart a bold path forward,” said Amy L. Towers, the board of governors’ chairwoman. “Rutgers is in a terrific position to attract the best of the best in its next president.”
“The university deserves a dynamic leader and communicator who shares Rutgers’ values, appreciates our multicampus identity, and brings with them experience running large, complex organizations with institutional effectiveness, accountability and a commitment to excellence,” she added.
WittKieffer will be paid either $325,000 or 31% of the new president’s total first-year compensation, whichever is lower. The total compensation could include a base salary and target annual bonuses, according to the university.
Towers said the board wants the next president to continue the state university’s dedication to academic research, civic engagement and social mobility for students.
WittKieffer, based in Manhattan, has experience with global searches. Its successful candidates serve an average of eight years, considered above the national average, university officials said. Holloway is leaving at the end of his five-year contract.
The search firm’s team includes higher education leaders who will be guided by a Rutgers presidential search committee that the board of governors plans to appoint in the coming weeks.
In August, WittKieffer added eight experts to its higher education team.
Towers and Alberto Cuitiño, dean of the School of Engineering, will co-chair the search committee. It will include students, alumni, faculty, staff and others invested in the university’s success, campus officials said.
The search committee will conduct town halls and listening sessions, and launch a website providing updates on its work, according to a statement from Rutgers.
“We are confident that we will find the individual who will cherish this diverse, vibrant university,” said Amy B. Mansue, chairwoman of the Rutgers Board of Trustees.
Holloway, the university’s first Black president, said toxic politics contributed to his decision to leave. He cited concerns about the safety of his wife and children as one of the reasons he was stepping down, after a challenging tenure presiding over the school’s recovery from the pandemic, the school’s first faculty strike, and a pro-Palestinian student encampment.
Protesters came to his home at 7:30 a.m. during last year’s faculty strike, he told NJ Advance Media shortly before announcing he was stepping down.
“I don’t want to be in an environment where I need, where my family needs, protection. That’s the part I didn’t bargain for,” he said.
Stories by Tina Kelley
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Tina Kelley may be reached at tkelley@njadvancemedia.com.