Rutgers President Robert L. Barchi will leave the university at the end of the 2019-2020 academic year, according to published reports. His departure will represent the end of an eight-year tenure marked with successes and challenges.
Most notably, President Barchi’s stint represents a time of expansion for the University as it merged with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, opened a new honors college and other buildings, and joined the Big Ten Conference.
But Dr. Barchi’s term was also pockmarked with blemishes, most notably the dismissal of former men’s basketball coach Mike Rice, who was fired in 2013 after a videotape showed him physically abusing players and using gay slurs during practice.
Dr. Barchi has also been criticized for his corporate ties and has sparred with the Rutgers American Association of University Professors-American Federation of Teachers faculty union resulting in a near faculty strike earlier this year.
Rising tuition costs have also continued to plague President Barchi’s incumbency but his administration has achieved or has begun many of the goals set forth in the University’s 2014 Strategic Plan.
This is a developing story. Stay tuned for more details.