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First black president for Rutgers University expected to be appointed

Jonathan Holloway currently serves as provost of Northwestern University, where he is also professor of history and African American studies.

The proposed new president for Rutgers University, Jonathan Holloway, will oversee a institution spread across three campuses, including one in Camden.
The proposed new president for Rutgers University, Jonathan Holloway, will oversee a institution spread across three campuses, including one in Camden.Read moreMatt Rourke / AP

The governing boards of Rutgers University are expected to approve Jonathan Holloway as the school’s first black president, a university official confirmed Sunday, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of an official vote on Tuesday.

Holloway currently is provost of Northwestern University, where he is also professor of history and African American studies. Before joining the Northwestern faculty 2½ years ago, Holloway was the dean of Yale College from 2014 to 2017.

The Rutgers Board of Governors and the Board of Trustees are scheduled to meet Tuesday at 9 a.m. to vote on a resolution on the “appointment of an executive-level member of the administration,” according to their respective agendas.

A school spokesperson declined to comment Sunday, beyond pointing to the notices posted regarding the vote.

Rutgers president Robert L. Barchi announced last July that he would be stepping down from the role this year. He took over in 2012 as head of New Jersey’s flagship university, which numbers more than 70,000 students across three campuses.

NJ Advance Media was first to report on Sunday that Holloway will be named as Barchi’s replacement.

Holloway earned his doctorate in history from Yale in 1995, and has authored two books on black history: Confronting the Veil, a biography of three black scholars who taught at Howard University during the 1930s, and Jim Crow Wisdom, about race and memory.