Mourning Former Registrar Ken Iuso, an Alumnus and Beloved Administrator Who Personified Rutgers
Kenneth J. Iuso, who came to Rutgers as a student and returned to become a beloved administrator serving the university for 53 years, including decades as its registrar responsible for bringing the office into the digital age, died Sept. 13. He was 85.
Iuso, a 1961 graduate of Rutgers College, is remembered as someone who personified the best of Rutgers through deep connections and dedication. He had a brief stint as a quarterback for the football team in the late 1950s, marched as an undergrad with the Rutgers Color Guard during John F. Kennedy’s inauguration in 1961 and hooded then-President Barack Obama for an honorary degree during the university’s 250th anniversary commencement ceremony in 2016– which his wife Carole said was one of his most cherished memories.
“Ken was Rutgers; he was the individual who best understood the inner workings of this most complicated institution,” said Courtney McAnuff, vice chancellor of enrollment management at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, who first met Iuso in 2006 and was his supervisor.
“Ken never turned a student away, whether or not they had an appointment. He was special; it is rare to have a person out of a community of 70,000 people stand out for his positive impact on others,” McAnuff said.
Iuso served under five university presidents before retiring in 2018. At the time of his retirement, he was the sixth longest serving faculty or staff member. He had registered over one million students and graduated over 300,000 alumni, according to a 2018 State of Rutgers-New Brunswick report.
During his 44-year tenure as registrar, he oversaw the transformation of the registration process from old tab cards to an online system.
“For me, he was a mentor; he was a teacher,” said University Registrar Kelley Sokolowski, who took over the position after Iuso’s retirement. “He gave me every opportunity to grow in my career; just a very kind person.”
Iuso came to Rutgers in 1957 on scholarships, choosing the school over Columbia and Cornell, both of which had accepted him, according to his wife. His father died when he was 3 years old, leaving his mom to raise Iuso and his three older siblings by herself. With the family’s financial struggles always looming, Rutgers with its scholarship offers was an attractive choice.
Iuso majored in economics and was a member of the prestigious honor society Cap and Skull, Carole added.
During his time as a student, Iuso was a member of the Rutgers University Queens Guard Precision Rifle Drill Team which was known as one of the best military rifle exhibition display teams in the world, according to a blurb in the fall issue of Rutgers Magazine. In 1961, the team won the national championship under Iuso’s command.
A few years after graduation in 1965, Iuso began working at Rutgers in the admissions office and eventually was named registrar in 1974.
In between that time, he and Carole, who were high school sweethearts, married in1967 and had a son named Ken Jr. Iuso also earned his master’s degree in administration of higher education from Rutgers.
“Through a passion for his work and kindhearted thoughtfulness, Ken has made a difference here at Rutgers that will endure long past the conclusion of his tenure,” a 2018 resolution from the Rutgers Board of Governors stated.
“Ken is one of the best people I have ever had the pleasure to work with and he will be greatly missed,” said Juli Hibbard, registrar for Rutgers-New Brunswick. “Everyone I have talked to in recent days has talked about how Ken was the most genuine, kindhearted, loyal person you could ever meet.”
Iuso seemed to always have time for a colleague or a student, taking the time to listen and offer advice or find a solution. His assistant even had a term descbrining it: the confessional.
“I would call him, and his secretary would say, ‘I’m sorry, Carole, he’s in the confessional,’” Carole recalled. “She said ‘Everybody in the university who has a problem comes to Ken. He shuts the door, he listens to them, tells them what he would do, and they would leave the confessional.’”
In retirement, Iuso focused on his gardening and was considering finally finishing his doctorate, which he had put off decades before.
“He was the best thing in my life,” said Carole Iuso. “He made me better. He made my son better. He made us better.”
The family is holding a private service.
