Report: LSU's William F. Tate named new Rutgers University President

Rutgers reportedly named LSU President William F. Tate to the same role, according to NJ Advance Media’s Steve Politi. The New Jersey university and Big Ten school casted a search for their new university president following Jonathan Holloway’s tenure.

“Tate has served as Executive Vice President for Academic Affair and Provost, while holding the Education Foundation Distinguished University Professorship at the University of South Carolina,” his bio at LSU read. “Prior to that, he served as a department chair and dean of the Graduate School and Vice Provost for Graduate Education at Washington University in St. Louis from 2002 to 2020. In addition, he held the Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professorship in Arts & Sciences. Prior joining Washington University in St. Louis, he served as the William L. and Betty F. Adams Chair at TCU and as a tenured faculty member at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 

“At South Carolina, Tate oversaw the 13 schools and colleges on the University of South Carolina Columbia campus, UofSC School of Medicine Columbia, and the UofSC School of Medicine Greenville, as well as being responsible for the overall leadership of academic affairs of the university, including curriculum development, program assessment, establishment of academic standards and university accreditation.”

Tate will be Rutgers’ 22nd president in school history. Rutgers has more than 69,000 students on three campuses and a $5 billion annual budget. He was approved by the Rutgers Board of Governors with the consent of the Rutgers Board of Trustees and introduced at a joint meeting in New Brunswick, NJ.

Since 2021, Tate was the President at LSU, a role he’ll now hold in New Jersey. He’s set to take over on July 1st, replacing Holloway who stepped down after five years on the job.

“Holloway cited concerns about the safety of his family as one of his reasons for leaving after a tumultuous term that included the school’s first faculty strike, a no-confidence vote by the Rutgers University Senate and a multi-day pro-Palestinian student encampment,” NJ Advance Media’s Liz Rosenberg wrote. “Tate takes over Rutgers at a complex time as the university is facing steep funding cuts from President Donald Trump’s administration and pressures to cut diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Rutgers has also clashed with Trump officials on several issues, including attempts to revoke the visas of international students.”

Not only did Rutgers hire a new president in Tate, the school is still in the middle of a search for a new athletic director, following the resignation of Pat Hobbs. Hobbs was embroiled in controversy, citing health issues as reason to step down just prior to the 2024 football season.

However, he allegedly had an improper relationship with now-fired women’s gymnastics coach Umme Salim-Beasley. It reportedly led to Beasley’s job being relatively safe amid allegations of athlete mistreatment.