In September, Jonathan Holloway, the first Black president of Rutgers University in New Jersey, announced his intent step down from his role on June 30 and return to a full-time faculty position after taking a one year sabbatical during the 2025-2026 academic year.
However, his plans have changed. Instead of returning to the Rutgers faculty, Dr. Holloway is slated to become the seventh president and chief executive officer of the Henry Luce Foundation on October 1.
Established in 1936 by Henry R. Luce, the founder of Fortune and co-founder of Time magazines, the Luce Foundation is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening the field of Asia studies, encouraging interfaith understanding, raising the visibility of American art in museums and universities, and closing the gender gap in STEM research and teaching. Since its founding, the organization has awarded some 5,800 grants totaling more than $1 billion.
“I am honored to join the Henry Luce Foundation after I complete my tenure at Rutgers and to build upon its decades of remarkable work to foster discussion across differences, improve public discourse, and nurture ideas that will strengthen communities,” said Dr. Holloway. “At this challenging time in our nation, the Luce Foundation’s efforts are more imperative than ever. I am eager to work with the foundation’s committed staff and board toward a healthy democratic culture and an equitable society.”
Dr. Holloway assumed the presidency of Rutgers University at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in July 2020, becoming the first Black president in the university’s more than 250-year history. During his five year tenure, the university has experienced record undergraduate enrollment, exceeded its fundraising goals, and expanded its medical academic programming and infrastructure. However, over the same time period, the university has experienced national controversy because of its response to the pro-Palestine protests on campus and a subsequent faculty strike.
Before his tenure at Rutgers, Dr. Holloway was provost of Northwestern University in Illinois for three years. Earlier, he spent two decades on the faculty at Yale University. He holds a bachelor’s degree in American studies from Stanford University in California and a Ph.D. in history from Yale.
