Rutgers Edge Newsletter

Advancing Impact. Amplifying Innovation. Building the Edge.
November, 2025 Issue

A Season of Judgment and Promise: Equal Opportunity, Social Mobility, and Legacy at Rutgers

My Remarks to the Rutgers University Senate on November 21, 2025

 This past spring, I was sitting in a judicial ceremony where a colleague was being sworn in to a judgeship. While listening to testimonies about his experiences and past cases, my mind wandered to thoughts of my journey as an academic and my scholarship related to the 14th Amendment and civil rights protections in education, housing, and federally funded programs. I recognized immediately that my colleague was embarking on a difficult road of interpreting constitutional promises, statutory enforcement, institutional structures, protected groups, fairness, access, and merit. Equal opportunity law seeks to ensure fair access, nondiscrimination, protection of civil rights, and pathways to education, employment, housing, and civic participation and engagement. I recognized that its evolution continues while remaining a bedrock of our country’s principles of democracy.

My phone rang during the judicial ceremony. It was the executive search firm representing Rutgers University’s presidential search. I had responded earlier by email that the position did not align with my goals. The search firm leader called to inquire about my exact meaning. I was candid. One of the hard jobs of being the president of a university is moving the institution away from enterprise risk by operating in a fashion that is consistent with state and federal laws as well as executive orders. I had done that heavy lift in my current role, and it appeared from afar that Rutgers remained out of compliance. Thanks, but no thanks, I have done this once before.

To be sure, Rutgers had not escaped challenges during the Biden and Trump administrations and even here in New Jersey. Like the rest of the country, I watched the university’s president summoned to Congress over Rutgers’ response to campus unrest in the 2023–24 academic year. Investigations into the university’s response to civil rights complaints were documented in the news. Rutgers had entered into a civil rights settlement with the Biden administration because of allegations of Title VI violations. Rutgers was one of 60 universities to receive a warning letter from the Trump administration in March due to alleged Title VI violations, and it received a request from the Department of Justice for extensive admissions data. Rutgers faculty experienced grant revocations. All of this was occurring while the university, like all institutions, was being required to certify compliance with federal directives.

I shared these concerns about enterprise risk with the executive search firm’s lead. Persistent, he asked, “What else do you know about Rutgers? Please, do more homework.” I am very thankful today to have followed his recommendations. What I discovered was Rutgers’ collective efforts to create an institution that valued social mobility, innovation, and discovery. A university with Newark and Camden campuses ranked at the very top of the country on measures of social mobility, and the New Brunswick campus positioned in the top two in the Big Ten for social mobility. Rutgers personified equal opportunity.

History indicated the university had sought to reduce financial barriers, developed university policy that codified protections, created opportunity structures and pathways, and realized progress on social mobility measures. Rutgers is special in this regard. Combined with its growing research activity, I was very impressed.

I agreed to speak with the search committee. They were wonderful ambassadors. The rest is history. I want you to know that this governing body and Rutgers are a great gift to me. In this season of thanks, I am thankful to be here at Rutgers.

Rutgers’ commitment and success in social mobility have positively influenced our students’ educational attainment; changed the trajectory of their income and wealth; and improved their health, life expectancy, workforce participation, and civic engagement. The university has intervened in and made a meaningful difference to the cycle of opportunity for residents of the state.

I started this discussion describing being in a judiciary ceremony. I was surrounded by judges. And so I ask you now: How will we be judged by future generations? They will ask several questions to guide their assessment of our collective actions.

Did we protect academic freedom? Did we protect free speech? Since arriving in July, I have met with many groups in our community. The meetings follow a pattern. Those gathered affirm their belief in the principles of academic freedom and free speech, yet in the next moment they ask me to sanction the speech or writings of a group critical of something they hold dear. This is the challenge we must address.

Another question will guide future generations’ evaluation: Did we carefully differentiate Rutgers’ official positions from those taken by individuals in our community? Many people do not fully understand or embrace that faculty members’ and students’ papers, books, editorials, social media posts, conferences, and all forms of expression do not reflect the official position of the university. If they see Rutgers and a student group’s or faculty member’s name, many members of the public assume they must represent the institution. We must work hard to dispel this incorrect thinking. Official positions have formal approval processes or come from the president and governing boards.

Future generations will ask: Did we denounce threats, incitement of violence, physical intimidation, and the destruction or defacement of university property, and did we protect academic activities on campus from disruption? These acts cannot be tolerated. We must be vigilant to ensure we are on the right side of history.

They will ask: Does Rutgers’ light as a beacon of social mobility continue to shine? This year, Rutgers students received more than 500 million dollars in federal financial aid. Through this support, we are in a compact with the federal government to advance educational attainment and social mobility. To remain a place of opportunity for our students, we must effectively manage enterprise risk related to federal compliance.

They will also ask: Do innovation, discovery, and learning reign at Rutgers? The university exceeded 500 million dollars in federally funded research this past year. We also experienced more than 28 million dollars in canceled grants. I know investigators are adapting their proposed projects to align with federal guidelines. For example, the university’s NCI-designated Cancer Institute adjusted its work to meet changes in the designation process.

Similarly, Rutgers as an institution must follow federal and state requirements to remain a strong hub of innovation and opportunity, and in the coming days, weeks, and months, I will lead efforts to ensure this compliance. [Here is the announcement I sent today.] During this time, I will ask university leaders, including chancellors, provosts, deans, and chairs, to align our policies and practices with these requirements. If you are upset by these actions, please do not hold it against them. I am the person responsible for managing enterprise risk and ensuring compliance. Together, we can achieve these goals while positively answering the questions future generations will ask about our commitments.

We understand that equal opportunity law protects the starting line, while social mobility measures who crosses the finish line. As stewards of this historic public institution, we must protect both.