Rutgers' Troubled President Resigns Amidst Antisemitism and Protests

Jonathan Holloway, Rutgers University's first Black president, is stepping down at the end of the academic year after a tumultuous tenure marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, pro-Palestinian protests, and allegations of antisemitism.

Jonathan Holloway, the first Black president of Rutgers University, will step down at the end of the academic year after a brief tenure plagued by the COVID-19 pandemic and pro-Palestinian protests on campus. Holloway, 57, announced his decision in a statement posted on the university's website, saying he would take a yearlong sabbatical before returning as a full-time professor.

"This decision is my own and reflects my own rumination about how best to be of service," Holloway wrote.

Rutgers' Troubled President Resigns Amidst Antisemitism and Protests

Holloway's tenure as president was marked by controversy, particularly his handling of the pro-Palestinian protests that erupted on campus in the spring of 2021. Jewish students and administrators accused Holloway and his administration of failing to adequately respond to antisemitic behavior during the protests, which included the harassment of Jewish students and the burning of an Israeli flag.

One Jewish student told Fox News Digital that campus leadership left "behind the Jewish/pro-Israel students to deal with an unruly and obviously antisemitic crowd, whose attention turned to the Jews after the administration left." Police were eventually forced to intervene to protect Jewish students from the protesters.

Rutgers' Troubled President Resigns Amidst Antisemitism and Protests

In the wake of the protests, Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., of the congressional Education and Workforce Committee, criticized Holloway's leadership, saying he had "empowered antisemites and terrorist sympathizers."

"If he resigned today, President Holloway’s legacy would be one of empowering antisemites and terrorist sympathizers," Foxx wrote in a statement. "He must use his final year at Rutgers doing everything in his power to change that, starting by closing the antisemitic, pro-terror Center for Security, Race, and Rights; enforcing the rules; and enacting policies to protect Jewish students and faculty."

Rutgers' Troubled President Resigns Amidst Antisemitism and Protests

Holloway's announcement came just days after Rutgers held a hearing on antisemitism on college campuses. Ezra Pfeffer, a Jewish graduate of Rutgers, testified before Congress about the antisemitic incidents he had experienced on campus, including being harassed by pro-Palestinian protesters and having his car vandalized with antisemitic graffiti.

Pfeffer accused Rutgers of being "oblivious" to the problem of antisemitism on campus and called on the university to do more to protect Jewish students.

Rutgers' Troubled President Resigns Amidst Antisemitism and Protests

"Rutgers University has failed its Jewish students," Pfeffer said. "The university has allowed antisemitism to fester and grow on its campus, and it has done little to nothing to stop it."

Holloway's departure is the latest in a string of high-profile resignations at major universities in recent months. Columbia University President Lee Bollinger resigned in June after months of mounting pressure over his handling of anti-Israel protests on campus. Yale University President Peter Salovey also announced his resignation in July after 14 years at the helm of the Ivy League institution.

The departures of these university presidents have raised questions about the future of higher education in America and the challenges facing university leaders in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of political polarization on campuses.

Rutgers has not yet announced who will take over as president after Holloway's departure. The university is expected to begin a search for a new president in the coming months.