Rutgers University President Jonathan Holloway, who is stepping down at the end of the academic year, will lead New York-based philanthropic organization in his next role.
Holloway will become president and chief executive officer of the Henry Luce Foundation in the fall, officials announced Friday.
His five-year tenure at Rutgers is set to end on June 30. He will begin at the Luce Foundation on Oct. 1.
In a statement, Debra Knopman and Terry Adamson, co-chairs of the foundation’s board of directors, praised Holloway as “an eminent historian, a respected scholar of the humanities, a public intellectual and an influential leader in higher education.”
“His thoughtful approach to collaboration and a firm commitment to the Foundation’s long-term view of impact from its grantmaking position him well to lead the Foundation into the future,” they said.
Holloway said he was honored.
“At this challenging time in our nation, the Luce Foundation’s efforts are more imperative than ever,” he said in the statement, which was shared jointly by Rutgers.
Holloway’s departure from Rutgers, New Jersey’s largest university, was announced in September. At the time, he said he planned to take a year-long sabbatical and then rejoin the university’s faculty as a full-time professor.
Now, his sabbatical will end when he begins at the Luce Foundation, according to Friday’s statement. He will no longer return to Rutgers.
The Luce Foundation approached Holloway after his exit was announced, according to the statement, although it was not clear exactly when.
Founded in 1936 by Henry R. Luce, the co-founder of Time, Fortune and Life magazines, the Luce Foundation has doled out more than $1 billion in grants to universities, cultural institutions and media organizations.
Holloway will be the foundation’s seventh president and CEO. He was the 21st president of Rutgers, and its first Black president.
Appointed in the summer of 2020, Holloway oversaw the safe return to in-person classes and established Scarlet Service, a new initiative that provides hundreds of students with internships in public service. Under his watch, Rutgers researchers received a record $970 million in grants this past year.
But his tenure was also frequently tumultuous, marred by a scandal in the athletics department, an unprecedented faculty strike, a vote of no confidence from the university senate, pro-Palestinian demonstrations and a congressional grilling.
In an interview with The Star-Ledger in September, Holloway said concerns for his family’s safety had accelerated the end of his term.
“I’ve moved the needle as far as I can move it,” he said. “... 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.”
Holloway recalled union protesters had shown up at his home at 7:30 a.m. one morning during the strike last year, forcing him to accept a police escort for public appearances.
“Just like I didn’t sign up to have a police detail with me everywhere I go,” he said.
The 57-year-old also cited the toxic environment brewing on campus. “When you’re facing absolutely no-win situations constantly, in this era of hyperbole about failing to do X, Y, and Z … none of us signed up for that,” he said.
Holloway faced criticism over his handling of the strike, which, along with other issues, led the faculty senate to vote 89 to 47 in favor of a resolution saying it had “lost confidence” in him last September. In May, university administrators formally settled the strike.
The wave of pro-Palestinian protests that swept across campuses nationwide also challenged Holloway’s leadership.
He and other university leaders were able to negotiate a peaceful end to a student encampment in May after agreeing to some of the demonstrators’ demands, including offering scholarships to 10 Palestinian students displaced by the war in Gaza.
Although Rutgers did not agree to divest its financial holdings from companies with ties to Israel or explicitly call for a ceasefire, as protesters had demanded, House Republicans were infuriated by what they viewed as Holloway bending the knee.
They hauled him before a congressional committee in Washington, D.C. to answer questions shortly after.
Amy Towers, chair of Rutgers’ board of governors, said in Friday’s statement that they appreciated Holloway’s service and wished him well.
Stories by AJ McDougall
Thank you for relying on us to provide the local news you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.
AJ McDougall may be reached at amcdougall@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on X at @oldmcdougall.