Rutgers University President to Step Down Amid Controversy Over Anti-Israel Protests
Rutgers University President Jonathan Holloway has announced he will step down at the end of the academic year following intense backlash over recent anti-Israel protests and encampments on campus.
In a statement on the university’s website, Holloway emphasized that the decision to step down was his own and he plans to take a sabbatical in the 2025-2026 academic year before returning as a Rutgers faculty member.
“This decision is my own and reflects my own rumination about how best to be of service,” Holloway said in the statement.
“I remain steadfast in my belief that Rutgers is on the rise and is earning the respect it has long deserved,” he added. “I look forward to seeing it flourish in the years ahead.”
Holloway, who took office in the summer of 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, led the university in going fully remote and eventually requiring students to adhere to a mandated vaccination policy to return to campus.
In recent months, Holloway faced criticism from Jewish students for his handling of pro-Palestinian protests. Students accused him of failing to address antisemitism on campus, with one student telling Fox News that the school administration left “behind the Jewish/pro-Israel students to deal with an unruly and obviously antisemitic crowd, whose attention turned to the Jews after the administration left.” The student further explained that law enforcement was required to intervene in order to protect Jewish students from protesters.
Representative Virginia Foxx, a member of the Congressional Education and Workforce Committee, strongly condemned Holloway’s tenure, stating that his legacy would be one of “empowering antisemites and terrorist sympathizers.”
“If he resigned today, President Holloway’s legacy would be one of empowering antisemites and terrorist sympathizers,” Foxx said in a statement. “He must use his final year at Rutgers doing everything in his power to change that, starting by closing the antisemitic, pro-terror Center for Security, Race, and Rights; enforcing the rules; and enacting policies to protect Jewish students and faculty.”
