Welcome Back Faculty and Staff

January 20, 2026

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome back. I hope your break was restful and that you're returning with energy for what's ahead.

Something's happening here. You can feel it in the energy on campus, in the caliber of students choosing Rutgers, and in the recognition we're earning nationally. Before the semester gets busy, I want to share our story with you—one I've been telling trustees, donors, and higher education leaders, but haven't yet told directly to the people at the center of it.

The prevailing assumption in our field is that universities must choose: be elite or be accessible. Prioritize research or prioritize students. The conventional wisdom says you can't have both. Rutgers–New Brunswick is proving otherwise.

This past fall, we enrolled our largest class ever—and our most academically accomplished, with the highest SAT scores in our history. More than a quarter of our incoming class are Pell recipients. Research funding grew nine percent in a single year. We've risen twenty-one spots in the national rankings in four years. Not by becoming more exclusive, but by renewing each day our commitment to access and excellence.

For students, this means getting an elite education built on rigor, not exclusivity, and a degree that rises with the institution.

This is what I mean when I talk about access and excellence as accelerants rather than tradeoffs. And you're the ones making it real in classrooms, labs, residence halls, and offices across our campus.

This semester, we'll keep building. We're launching new approaches to student success, identifying who needs support earlier and connecting them with it faster. We're investing in faculty and research in areas where Rutgers can lead: AI and data science, climate and energy, and behavioral health. And we're expanding the communities and spaces where students find belonging alongside challenge.

None of this happens without you. What we're demonstrating here matters, not just for Rutgers, but for public higher education. And it's only possible because of what each of you contributes.

This place is rising. And our community is rising with it.

I can't wait to see what this semester brings. The story we're telling depends on what happens next, and I'm glad we're writing the next chapter together.

Warmly,

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