Rutgers University president to resign amid pandemic and anti-Israel protests.
Jewish students alleged that the school's administration failed to address overt antisemitic actions on campus during the recent upheaval.
The president of Rutgers University will resign at the end of the academic year, having led the top New Jersey university through a challenging tenure marked by the pandemic and pro-Palestinian protests and encampments on campus.
Rutgers' first Black president, Jonathan Holloway, 57, will depart from his position when the current academic year concludes. He intends to take a year-long sabbatical before resuming his duties as a full-time professor at the university.
Holloway stated on the university's website that the decision was made independently and based on personal contemplation about how to best serve.
Holloway's presidency at the university was marked by conflict due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Israel-Hamas war, and anti-Israel protests on campus.
In July 2020, Holloway established the foundation for the university to transition entirely to remote learning and later readmitted students to campus after implementing mandatory vaccination protocols.
Jewish students at Rutgers have criticized Holloway and administrators for not taking action against antisemitic behavior during pro-Palestinian campus protests.
The administration abandoned Jewish/pro-Israel students to confront an antisemitic crowd, leaving them to deal with the situation.
Jewish students were protected from protesters by police intervention.
After Holloway's announcement on Tuesday, Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., from the congressional Education and Workforce Committee, stated that the president's legacy would be defined as "empowering antisemites and terrorist sympathizers."
"President Holloway's legacy as an empowerer of antisemites and terrorist sympathizers would be set in stone if he resigned today, according to Foxx. To change this narrative, he must use his remaining time at Rutgers to take action, starting with shutting down the antisemitic and pro-terror Center for Security, Race, and Rights; enforcing rules; and implementing policies to safeguard Jewish students and faculty."
Rutgers has not yet announced who will succeed Holloway as its leader.
""I am committed to my conviction that Rutgers is gaining recognition and will continue to thrive in the future," he stated."
Planet Chronicle Digital has reached out to Rutgers for comment.
Planet Chronicle Digital's Brie Stimson contributed to this report.
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