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The university's 21st president will step down after finishing his fifth year in office on Monday, June 30, 2025, Rutgers said in a news release on Tuesday, Sept. 17. The U.S. historian plans to take a sabbatical during the 2025-26 year for research projects before joining the Rutgers faculty full time.
In a letter to the Rutgers community, Holloway said he made the decision to resign on his own and believes it's how he can best help the university.
"Serving as the university president has been an enormous privilege and responsibility," wrote Holloway. "I welcomed the opportunity to join the Rutgers community in July 2020 because I found inspiration in the possibilities that this institution represented: a belief that cutting-edge research could thrive in a university that was deeply committed to making education as accessible as possible to a profoundly diverse student population. The reality behind this inspiration has been reaffirmed time and again during my tenure."
Holloway became Rutgers' first Black president when he took office on Wednesday, July 1, 2020. He led Rutgers through the COVID-19 pandemic when the university system operated remotely.
Rutgers became one of many U.S. universities where pro-Palestinian protests have spread during the Israel-Hamas war. Student groups like Students for Justice in Palestine have been punished or suspended amid accusations of vandalism and what some considered antisemitic speech.
Holloway testified before Congress on Thursday, May 23 in a House committee hearing about universities' responses to pro-Palestine protests on campuses. The president addressed the circumstances that canceled May's final exams on the College Avenue Campus in New Brunswick as protestors demanded Rutgers divest from Israeli business interests and its partnership with Tel Aviv University.
The outgoing president didn't reference the protests in his resignation announcement. Holloway did tell NJ Advance Media in an exclusive interview that a "toxic breakdown in the public discussion" surrounding the demonstrations drove his decision to leave office.
Holloway was also president during the first strike of academics in Rutgers history in the spring of 2023. Teaching unions overwhelmingly approved new contracts and the strike ended on Monday, May 8, 2023, Gothamist reported.
The largest class of first-year students is attending Rutgers in Holloway's final year as president. The university said applications have increased by more than 60 percent since adopting the Common Application.
Amy Towers, chair of the Rutgers Board of Governors, said a "robust, nationwide search" will be conducted to find the university's next president.
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