Appointment of Interim Director of Athletics and Search Committee

December 29, 2008

Members of the Rutgers Community:

I am pleased to announce that Professor Carl Kirschner, longtime dean of Rutgers College and current chair of the Academic Oversight Committee for Intercollegiate Athletics, has agreed to serve as interim director of athletics, effective January 1, 2009. It had been my intention to wait until after the bowl game to send this news, but because sports reporters in Birmingham have already posted it online, I am sharing it with you immediately. This is a temporary appointment as the university conducts a search for a permanent director of intercollegiate athletics. Carl has affirmed that he will not be a candidate for the position.

A member of the Rutgers faculty since 1976, Carl currently serves as special counselor for integrative academic programs, focused on improving undergraduate education, including undergraduate research opportunities and the academic experience for student athletes. As chair of the Academic Oversight Committee, he knows the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics well and has worked directly with many of the coaches.

Dr. Kirschner will bring important administrative experience to this assignment. For more than 12 years he led Rutgers’ oldest and largest academic unit, with a student body of more than 11,000. Dean Kirschner earned high praise for his leadership as an administrator, his relationship with faculty members, and his care for students. In addition, he has worked closely with the Rutgers University Foundation and has been instrumental in the receipt of many significant gifts, including the lead gift for the Jerome and Lorraine Aresty Center for Undergraduate Research. I am confident that he will serve with distinction as interim director of athletics.

The university will work expeditiously to appoint a new director of intercollegiate athletics, and the national search has already begun. We have issued bid requests for an executive search consultant and will soon select a firm. The search committee, chaired by Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Philip Furmanski, also includes Hollis Copeland, member of the Board of Trustees and former Rutgers student athlete; Richard Edwards, dean of the School of Social Work; Albert R. Gamper Jr., chair of the Board of Governors’ Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics; John Herma, Rutgers alumnus; Professor Jorge Marcone; Professor Pat Mayer; Professor Howard McGary; Nina Montero, student athlete; Patricia Nachtigal, vice chair of the Board of Governors; Ken Schmidt, chair of the Board of Overseers; Professor Thomas M. Stephens, the university’s NCAA faculty athletics representative; Bob Stevenson, vice chair of the Rutgers University Alumni Association; Professor Kathryn Uhrich; and John Wooding, senior associate athletic director.

We at Rutgers have many reasons for pride, including world-renowned faculty, stellar research, dedicated staff, gifted students, and accomplished alumni. I am committed to building on these strengths in all we do, including the continued development of a truly outstanding athletics program to complement our academic excellence.

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