Rutgers University Board of Governors Names New Brunswick Chancellor Richard L. Edwards University Professor

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Richard L. Edwards, chancellor of Rutgers University-New Brunswick, former interim president of the university and former dean of the School of Social Work at Rutgers, has been appointed University Professor by the university’s Board of Governors, effective July 1. Edwards’ announced in September that he would be stepping down from his post as chancellor.

 

“When I arrived at Rutgers as dean of the School of Social Work in 2005, I expected to help the school achieve certain goals and meet certain challenges, and then retire,” Edwards said. “But challenges and opportunities came my way that I didn’t expect. My experiences as interim president and chancellor – indeed, my entire experience at Rutgers – have been richer and more rewarding than I ever imagined. I look forward to teaching and writing at Rutgers, one of the nation’s great research universities.”

 

Edwards came to Rutgers as dean of the School of Social Work in 2005 after a long career as a social work scholar and academic administrator. He was dean of the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University from 1988 to 1992, and dean of the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill from 1992 to 2000. He served as interim provost there from 2000 to 2001, and then spent four years as Alumni Distinguished Professor before coming to Rutgers.

 

Edwards became chancellor in 2014 after serving as dean, interim president and interim chancellor. He was also executive vice president of academic affairs from 2012 to 2015.

 

“Dick Edwards has been a trusted advisor to me and an outstanding ambassador for Rutgers,” said Rutgers President Robert Barchi. “I applaud him for all he’s done for Rutgers, and am pleased that Rutgers will continue to benefit from his experience and insight.” 

 

One of Edwards’ signature achievements as chancellor came in November with the release of research that revealed an untold history of some of Rutgers’ founders as slave owners and the displacement of the Native Americans who once occupied land that was later transferred to the college. A year earlier, Edwards had formed the Committee on Enslaved and Disenfranchised Populations in Rutgers History. That group’s work resulted in the book Scarlet and Black, Volume 1: Slavery and Dispossession in Rutgers History, which brought out of the shadows the story of Will, a slave who laid the foundation of Old Queens, the university’s iconic building. The research, which spans the mid-18th through mid-19th centuries, also revealed that abolitionist and women’s rights activist Sojourner Truth and her parents were owned by the family of Rutgers’ first president Jacob Hardenbergh. 

 

During his tenure, Edwards led initiatives that expanded access to higher education, including for those students with whom he shared a common trait: they were the first in their families to attend college. Among these efforts was RU-1st, which provided support through mentoring, advising and community building to ensure that first-generation students, often among the highest at-risk for dropping out, completed their education.

 

Edwards led development of the New Brunswick Strategic Plan in 2014 and has guided its implementation. Under his leadership, Rutgers-New Brunswick has strengthened the student advising system and bolstered university services for first-year, graduate, transfer, and international students.