Applauding Margaret Marsh's Leadership as Interim Chancellor

May 4, 2009

Members of the Rutgers Community:

When incoming Chancellor Wendell Pritchett assumes his new duties on June 30, Margaret Marsh will have served for more than two years as interim chancellor of Rutgers–Camden. On that day, she will return to her position as dean of the Camden Faculty of Arts and Sciences, where Michael Palis has performed admirably in her stead these past two years.

Chancellor Marsh's service has been outstanding. She has understood the challenges and embraced the opportunities that the campus has faced. She has moved Rutgers–Camden toward a bold long-term vision of a 7,000-student, doctoral-degree-granting institution that maintains its traditional "liberal-arts college" student experience.

Under Chancellor Marsh's guidance, Rutgers–Camden has revamped its marketing and communication strategies both to increase enrollment and to enhance the institution's reputation. Transfer and new-student enrollments have increased, and she has created task forces on retention strategies and assessment of the undergraduate experience to ensure that students continue to thrive.

Chancellor Marsh has overseen academic advancements that are shaping Rutgers–Camden's future, including innovative interdisciplinary doctoral programs and an M.F.A. in creative writing. The Ph.D. program in childhood studies is gaining an international reputation, and the Board of Governors approved new Ph.D. programs in computational biology and public affairs. The transformation of the undergraduate School of Business program into a four-year school became a reality, as did an undergraduate concentration in early childhood education and minors in media studies and national security studies.

Several capital projects have moved forward under Dr. Marsh's leadership, including extensive renovations of the dining hall and recreation center, restoration of historic Johnson Park, and acquisition of properties on Lawrence and Cooper streets to be renovated for use by academic departments and programs. She has also fostered the expansion of off-campus programs, including six new undergraduate programs at Atlantic Cape Community College.

Among Chancellor Marsh's greatest contributions is the focus she has brought to civic engagement. She has convened a working group of faculty and staff to link Rutgers' commitment to Camden with our academic mission. Rutgers–Camden has hired its first director of economic development, has initiated new partnerships with the Camden school district, and is working with North Camden residents to realize their plan for revitalizing the area. In commitment to this focus, Dr. Marsh created the first Chancellor's Grants to support faculty who will teach undergraduate service-learning courses.

As interim chancellor, Margaret Marsh has led Rutgers–Camden with exceptional judgment, vision, and dedication to excellence during a long search for a permanent chancellor. She has ensured that the Camden Campus community has made important progress over the past two years, and we are in her debt. Please join me in thanking Dr. Marsh for a job exceedingly well done.

Richard L. McCormick
President
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey