Officials at Rutgers University have named William F. Tate IV the 22nd president of the university. Tate, a renowned social scientist and president of the Louisiana State University (LSU) system since May 2021, will succeed Jonathan Holloway as Rutgers’ head on July 1. Holloway became the first Black person to become the president of Rutgers in 2020.
Tate, who also made history as LSU’s first Black American president will now become the second Black person to lead Rutgers.
“I am honored to join the Rutgers family, where the Rutgers Edge is more than a concept. It is reflected in a history of leading with outstanding research, clinical excellence, insightful pedagogy, innovative partnerships and storied athletic feats,” Tate said in a release. “Together, we have an opportunity to align our efforts and push to greater levels of impact. We can compete and win at new heights if we work together.”
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The Rutgers Board of Governors, with the advice of the Rutgers Board of Trustees, approved Tate’s appointment on Monday at a joint meeting of the two boards.
“When the presidential search committee began the search for Rutgers’ next president, with community input, we sought a transformative leader who embodies Rutgers’ values and our multi-campus identity – someone who is intentional, collaborative and unafraid to think big – someone who understands well the broad, higher education environment and sees the unique opportunities for Rutgers to succeed through it all. Dr. Tate is that extraordinary leader, a scholar, an innovator and a transformative force whose vision will unite academic excellence with public impact,” said Board of Governors Chair Amy L. Towers.
Tate has served as the chief executive and academic officer of both the LSU system and the LSU flagship campus in Baton Rouge and holds faculty appointments in sociology, psychiatry and behavioral medicine, epidemiology, and population and public health at the Baton Rouge campus, LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, and Pennington Biomedical Research Center, the release stated.
Under his leadership, LSU has soared in research, according to an LSU official news release cited by DrumBeatsLa. The release stated that in the 2023-2024 academic year, Tate helped LSU’s campuses in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Shreveport achieve a record-breaking $543 million in combined research activity. There was als a record enrollment of over 55,000 students across the LSU enterprise and record-breaking graduate rates.
Before joining LSU, Tate served as executive vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of South Carolina (UofSC). There, he also held the Education Foundation Distinguished University Professorship. Before that, Tate served as a department chair and dean of the Graduate School and vice provost for graduate education at Washington University in St. Louis.
He was also the William L. and Betty F. Adams Chair at Texas Christian University (TCU) and a tenured faculty member at the University of Wisconsin-Madison before joining Washington University in St. Louis.
Tate received a bachelor of science degree in economics with a minor in mathematical sciences from Northern Illinois University, a master of arts degree in mathematical sciences education from the University of Texas at Dallas and a Ph.D. in mathematics education with a cognate in human development from the University of Maryland, College Park, the release from Rutgers said.
He was also awarded the Anna Julia Cooper post-doctoral fellowship to study social and public policy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Tate finished a second postdoctoral fellowship at the Washington University School of Medicine, where he earned a master of psychiatric epidemiology degree.
He is currently a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, National Academy of Education, Sigma Xi, and a fellow in the American Educational Research Association.
“Dr. Tate has enthusiasm for creating excellence in academics, research, and clinical care,” said Board of Trustees Chair Amy Mansue. “Rutgers will continue to excel under Dr. Tate’s leadership, in service both to New Jersey and to our nation. We welcome this next era in our great history.”
