About President Tate
William F. Tate IV
22nd President of Rutgers University
William F. Tate IV, an award-winning scholar, took office as the 22nd president of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, on July 1, 2025. He also serves as a University Professor and Distinguished Professor.
Prior to accepting the Rutgers presidency, he served as president of Louisiana State University (LSU) and held faculty and leadership roles at the University of South Carolina, Washington University in St. Louis, TCU, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Previous Roles
As chief executive officer of both the LSU system and its flagship campus, President Tate oversaw a public research institution with over 60,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students; 3,000 full-time faculty; an estimated economic impact of over $6 billion; and more than 200 licenses, while holding faculty appointments in sociology, psychiatry and behavioral medicine, epidemiology, and public health. In recognition of his record-setting tenure at Louisiana State University, Dr. Tate received a U.S. Congressional Commendation, along with formal resolutions from both the Louisiana Senate and House of Representatives.
President Tate served as executive vice president for academic affairs and provost, while holding the Education Foundation Distinguished University Professorship at the University of South Carolina. 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. In addition, he held the Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professorship in Arts and Sciences. Prior to 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.
Academic Background
President Tate is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Education. In addition, he is the recipient of numerous research recognitions including being elected to fellow status in the American Educational Research Association (AERA) as well as association-related honors including an Early Career Contribution Award, Presidential Citation, the Distinguished Scholar Award in Mathematics Education, and Distinguished Contributions in Education Research Lifetime Achievement Award-Division G.
He was awarded the Anna Julia Cooper Postdoctoral Fellowship to study social and public policy at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He later completed a second postdoctoral fellowship at the Washington University School of Medicine, where he earned a Master’s in Psychiatric Epidemiology (M.P.E.).
Prior to his postdoctoral training, President Tate earned a Ph.D. in mathematics education with a cognate in human development from the University of Maryland, College Park, where he was a Patricia Roberts Harris Fellow. He also holds an M.A. in mathematical sciences education from the University of Texas at Dallas and a B.S. in economics with a minor in mathematical sciences from Northern Illinois University.
He is married to Kim Cash Tate and they have two young adult children. Kim Cash Tate is an author, Bible teacher, singer/songwriter, and YouTuber. She earned a B.A. from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a J.D. from the George Washington University Law School.