A Community of Excellence and Empathy

September 8, 2025

Dear Rutgers–New Brunswick Community,

The start of a new academic year is always a special moment. The campus comes alive again with conversation, curiosity, and possibility. For some, this is the first time stepping into a Rutgers classroom; for others, it is a return to familiar hallways, colleagues, and traditions. Wherever you are in your Rutgers journey, whether as a member of our faculty, staff, or student bodies, this season reminds us of what we create together: a community of learning, discovery, and care.

At Rutgers, our strength has always been in our diversity—our many backgrounds, perspectives, and ideas. We are at our best when we celebrate our differences and recognize them as the engine that drives our pursuit of knowledge, sparks innovation, and shapes the ways our scholarship, teaching, and service impact society. Our university is at its best when we embrace the rich exchange of ideas, even when they challenge us. Rutgers is a forum where inquiry is encouraged, where dialogue is essential, and where respect for one another makes exploration possible.

This commitment is not abstract. It is lived daily in classrooms, labs, offices, and community spaces across our campuses. Our commitment is realized in our protections against discrimination and bias: in our policies, support systems for those who encounter barriers, and programs that help us learn from one another. It is carried forward by faculty who push the boundaries of knowledge, by staff who sustain an environment where all can thrive, and by students whose curiosity drives our future.

The work of this year, then, is both individual and collective. We recommit ourselves to scholarship and discovery; we practice compassion in how we engage with colleagues and peers; and we hold fast to the idea that knowledge and innovation are not ends in themselves but catalysts for impact on our communities, our state, and the world.

We begin this academic year striving for excellence with empathy, engaging in debate with respect, and creating with imagination. Together, we will continue to ensure that Rutgers is not only a place of academic achievement but also a home for dialogue, care, and belonging.

With gratitude and hope,

Francine Conway, Ph.D.
Chancellor and Distinguished Professor
Rutgers University–New Brunswick