William F. Tate IV has been named the twenty-second president of Rutgers University in New Jersey. Upon assuming his role on July 1, he will become the university’s second Black president. Dr. Tate succeeds Jonathan Holloway, the institution’s first Black president, who is slated to lead the Henry Luce Foundation in October.
According to the most recent federal data, Rutgers University enrolls over 36,000 undergraduate and 14,000 graduate students at its flagship campus in New Brunswick. Black students represent 7 percent of the undergraduate student population.
In May 2021, Dr. Tate assumed his current role as the first Black president of the Louisiana State University system. As a faculty member, he holds appointments in the departments of sociology, psychiatry and behavioral medicine, epidemiology, and population and public health, as well as the LSU Health Sciences Centers in Shreveport and New Orleans and the Pennington Biomedical Research Center.
Before joining the LSU administration, Dr. Tate was executive vice president for academic affairs and provost and the Education Foundation Distinguished University Professor at the University of South Carolina. Earlier, he spent nearly two decades on the faculty at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, serving in roles such as department chair, dean of the Graduate School, and vice provost for graduate education. He has also taught at Texas Christian University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“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,” said Dr. Tate. “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.”
Dr. Tate is a graduate of Northern Illinois University, where he majored in economics with a minor in mathematical sciences. He holds a master’s 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.
