Rutgers taps Louisiana State University leader as its next president
William F. Tate IV will start July 1.
Rutgers University has tapped the leader of Louisiana State University, a Chicago native and social scientist, as its 22nd president.
William F. Tate IV, 63, was unanimously selected by the board of governors at a meeting on the main New Brunswick campus Monday. He will start July 1 and will replace Jonathan Holloway, who announced in September that he would leave in June, following the completion of his fifth year.
Holloway was Rutgers’ first Black president, and Tate, who started his career as a public school teacher in Texas, becomes its second.
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“We sought a transformative leader who embodies Rutgers’ values and our multi-campus identity — someone who is intentional, collaborative and unafraid to think big — someone who understands well the broad, higher education environment and sees the unique opportunities for Rutgers to succeed through it all,“ Amy L. Towers, chair of the board of governors, said in a statement. ”Dr. Tate is that extraordinary leader."
Tate will earn a base salary of $1.1 million in the first year of his five-year contract, with a guarantee of 32% of the base as incentive compensation in year one. The incentive compensation will be based on performance in subsequent years, but will be nothing less than 10% if awarded, according to his contract terms. He also will get $375,000 per year in deferred compensation, payable after five years. That would mean his first-year total compensation could reach more than $1.8 million.
“It’s an honor to be here,” Tate said at the meeting, shortly after being appointed. “We stand at the edge of possibility. We stand at the edge of innovation. We stand at the edge of excellence.”
His predecessor, Holloway, led Rutgers through a tumultuous period, including the pandemic, a faculty strike, and campus protests that included a pro-Palestinian encampment last spring. Holloway said in September he made the decision to depart after two really difficult years that included two weeks of having 24-hour security at his home and on campus during the height of contentious faculty contract negotiations and increased security following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the subsequent unrest on campus.
“Those are the five hardest years to ever be at university,” Tate said, giving a nod to what Holloway faced. “I want to commend you publicly for all that you’ve done to put Rutgers in the position that it’s in today.”
Rutgers’ faculty unions expressed optimism.
“The Rutgers unions are excited to turn a new page at the university,” said Todd Wolfson, president of Rutgers AAUP-AFT. “We remain committed to working with President Tate and his new leadership team.”
Tate made repeated references to championships and the importance of sports, underscoring his interest and commitment to athletics.
“I was born in the Cradle of the Big 10,” he said, referring to the athletic conference to which Rutgers belongs.
To New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, who lauded Tate’s appointment, Tate said: “So, governor, you’re known for your ports, aren’t you?”
» READ MORE: Testifying before Congress, Rutgers president defends decision to negotiate agreement with pro-Palestinian protesters
“That’s right,” Murphy said.
“And what goes into the ports?” Tate asked. “Ships” was the answer.
He said Rutgers’ job is to make sure “we have more ships in the form of championships. That’s what we need to be in the business of, because what draws young people to a campus?”
Sports is one of the big things, he said.
“You‘re gonna hear me use team metaphors over and over again,” Tate said, talking about the need to work together regardless of political leanings.
Tate’s background
Since 2021, Tate has led Louisiana State, a system of more than 55,000 students, which is a little smaller than Rutgers, with 67,956 students. The school last fall welcomed the largest freshman class in its history.
Tate previously served as provost and executive vice president of academic affairs at the University of South Carolina. He was both the first African American leader of Louisiana State and the first African American president in the Southeastern Conference.
Before that, he served as executive vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of South Carolina and department chair and dean of the graduate school and vice provost for graduate education at Washington University in St. Louis. He also previously worked at Texas Christian University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Tate started his career in K-12 education, working as a math teacher and girls track and basketball coach in the Dallas Independent School District.
He got his bachelor’s degree in economics from Northern Illinois University, his master’s in mathematical sciences education from the University of Texas at Dallas, and his doctorate in mathematics education from the University of Maryland, College Park. He also completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Washington University School of Medicine and got a master of psychiatric epidemiology degree.
His compensation package at Louisiana State, including a $750,000 base salary and an additional $650,000 if he completed certain objectives, drew some scrutiny. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill last year said the cash bonus incentives in his renegotiated contract were “an unconstitutional donation.” The student senate also condemned the pay structure. The board chair defended the terms.
In 2022, he apologized to the staff of the student news site, the Reveille, after criticizing the publication at a board of regents’ meeting.
“Every student newspaper article in all the systems, if you pick them up, 95% of the information is negative,” Tate said at the time. “The negative instinct is overwhelming in journalism. They cannot help themselves.”
But he later tweeted: “I hold journalism in high regard. As a scientist speaking to a group about how institutions are described, I built on the empirical realities of the negative instinct.”
He is married to Kim Cash Tate, an author, a Bible teacher, a speaker, and a singer/songwriter who has her own page on Louisiana State’s website and her own You Tube channel. She wrote the book Choosing a Lifestyle of Intimacy with God and the Promises of God, a fictional series. She has had a song hit the top 20 in the Billboard Gospel charts. She previously clerked for a federal judge and practiced at a large law firm in the Midwest.
They have two adult children.