Rutgers University senate votes no confidence in the school’s president after faculty strike and controversial changes

The Rutgers University senate on Friday voted no confidence in president Jonathan Holloway, following several controversial decisions in recent months, including the ouster of the Newark campus chancellor and the planned merger of the university’s two medical schools.

The move, which passed 89 to 47, also follows rocky faculty contract negotiations that resulted in a strike last spring at the 67,672-student public flagship university, during which time Holloway had threatened to seek an injunction to make faculty return to class.

Largely symbolic, the vote does not carry any authority but does send a message about the dissatisfaction of the senate, made up of a broad base of students, faculty, alumni, and staff.

The measure specifically states that the senate “has lost confidence in his ability to effectively lead this institution.”

But the board of governors, which has the authority to appoint the president, left no doubt it supports Holloway.

“Jonathan, you have been a calm but powerful agent of change,” wrote William E. Best in a letter to the president before the vote. “We applaud every decision you made and remain steadfast in our support of you for making them.”

Holloway, 56, Rutgers’ first Black president, has been on the job for a little over three years. He took office in July 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

» READ MORE: First black president for Rutgers University expected to be appointed

“When President Holloway first came to Rutgers several years ago, he had all the good will in the world from everybody within our beloved community and he has failed to live up to that, again and again,” said Audrey Truschke, a professor in the department of history at Rutgers-Newark, adding that he has repeatedly disrespected the faculty and the senate.

Norman Markowitz, an associate professor of history, who spoke during the meeting held via Zoom, also raised Holloway’s attitude toward the senate as an issue.

“If the president and the university treat the university senate the way high school principals treat student governments, which is to pat them on the head and then do what they want, we will all suffer,” he said. “I would say that this is in President Holloway’s interest. He should realize that his policies on this issue and his role in the strike, which was successful, have lost him huge support among the faculty, the students, and staff. ... He must act to regain that support.”

Alexis Winters, a student at Rutgers-Camden, said she and other students met with Holloway last semester about the strike and other concerns and felt their concerns were “completely dismissed.”

» READ MORE: Rutgers’ faculty and grad student unions will go on strike

In a statement, the university said Holloway, a U.S. historian who came to Rutgers from Northwestern University where he was the provost, would continue to work with the university and senate.

The statement from Dory Devlin, assistant vice president for news and media relations, also highlighted accomplishments under Holloway, saying he has strengthened the school, leading it through the pandemic, and to increasing prominence in national rankings.

In U.S. News rankings released earlier this week, Rutgers-New Brunswick placed 40th, tied with the University of Washington and Tufts University. That’s up 15 spots and the first time it broke the top 40, according to U.S. News, which said Rutgers benefited from the rankings’ increased emphasis on how well schools did enrolling and graduating students from economically diverse backgrounds. Rutgers-Camden also advanced 29 spots to 98, while Rutgers-Newark improved, too.

“Sponsored research at Rutgers now approaches $1 billion, the number of students competing for admission to the university this year exceeded 56,000 and is at an all-time high, and Rutgers is among the top producers of internationally recognized scholars receiving Fulbright Fellowships and other prestigious fellowships, scholarships, and awards,” Devlin said.

Some members of the university senate spoke against the no-confidence measure, saying it would accomplish nothing, except to damage the institution’s reputation and distract from its mission.

“I think it’s a hindrance to reconciliation,” said Ronald Quincy, a professor from the school of planning and public policy. “It has destabilizing elements.”

Kevin Schroth, an associate professor at Rutgers School of Public Health, said the no-confidence vote would not be productive.

“I don’t think that it will help us to rebuild bridges that will help the senate to get to where it is at its best, which is being able to provide advice and contribute to a dialogue with the administration,” he said. “I think this builds bigger walls between the senate and the university.”

Tensions between Holloway and the teaching staff mounted last year as negotiations for new contracts grew more tense.

“We hope that the courts would not have to be called upon to halt an unlawful strike,” Holloway wrote in a March 21 message to the campus community.

When the faculty went on strike in April, the university did not seek an injunction, but faculty continued to be critical of Holloway for suggesting it. The strike lasted a week and Rutgers educators, researchers, and clinicians ratified new contracts in May.

The senate resolution also called out the approved merger in July of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick and the New Jersey Medical School in Newark. Holloway pushed to move forward despite significant opposition and refused to respect the senate’s effort to pause the process, according to the approved senate resolution.

The board chair in his letter, however, praised Holloway for his efforts on the merger.

“Your vision of a unified medical school is both measured and ambitious, befitting the development of a world- class academic medical center...,” Best said.

Holloway also came under fire in August when the university announced that popular Newark chancellor Nancy Cantor would not continue in her position after this academic year. The resolution noted the decision to dismiss Cantor, who had been in the job for nearly 10 years and had nurtured close ties with the community, “with no explanation” and “counter to the recommendations of a campus committee tasked with conducting a yearlong, comprehensive review of her performance.”

And the senate resolution also dinged Holloway for a 6% tuition increase this year, as well as rising housing and dining costs.

Earlier this year, Temple University’s faculty union was preparing to hold a vote of no confidence in its president, Jason Wingard, but he resigned.

The faculty union voted no confidence in Provost Gregory N. Mandel and Board Chair Mitchell Morgan. Wingard, Temple’s first Black president, had been on the job for less than two years.