Rutgers president announces he will depart next year as expected

Rutgers University president Robert L. Barchi will step down next summer after eight years at the helm, he told the Board of Governors at its meeting Tuesday in New Brunswick, N.J.

“It has been my privilege and pleasure to lead this community during the past seven years, and this will continue to be the case during my eighth and final year,” said Barchi, 72, who has led the three-campus university of more than 70,000 students since 2012.

He will remain on the faculty, the university said.

During his tenure, the university broke fund-raising records, expanded its health sciences program, and joined the Big Ten Athletic Conference. The school also saw growth in endowed professorships and the endowment, which stands at $1.3 billion, and launched more than $2.5 billion in new construction.

“Under Bob Barchi’s leadership, Rutgers’ national rankings have risen, research at Rutgers has expanded overall and in critical areas, our student academic profile has enjoyed dramatic improvement, and the physical face of Rutgers has been forever changed,” Board of Governors Chair Mark Angelson said in a statement.

Barchi’s tenure was also marked by controversies, including a contentious negotiation period with the faculty union that resulted in a four-year contract this spring, and a scandal involving basketball coach Mike Rice, who was fired after accusations he physically and verbally abused players and used antigay slurs. Some criticized Barchi’s response to the Rice incident as too slow.

He also has faced criticism for tuition increases, which have occurred every year under his leadership. Later in the meeting, after Barchi’s announcement, the board approved a 2.9 percent increase in tuition and fees for undergraduate students for 2019-20.

Not counting financial aid, a typical in-state, full-time student in the arts and sciences at Rutgers-New Brunswick will pay $15,407 in tuition and mandatory fees. That increases to $28,482 for room and board. (At Rutgers-Camden, the numbers are slightly lower, $15,264 and $27,955.)

In 2018, Barchi earned $870,644 in total compensation, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education’s annual report on public university presidents’ salaries.

A neuroscientist and Philadelphia native, Barchi became president of New Jersey’s flagship university after a 40-year career in higher education in Philadelphia. He came to Rutgers from Thomas Jefferson University, where he had been president. He previously was a University of Pennsylvania professor and provost.

Rutgers plans to launch a national search for his replacement.