Welcoming Dr. Geary as Incoming Provost on July 1; Thanking Provost Tomlinson-Clarke

January 6, 2025

Dear Rutgers–New Brunswick Community,

As we begin the new year, I write to announce a leadership transition: Effective July 1, 2025, Dr. Jason Geary will assume the role of Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.

Dr. Saundra Tomlinson-Clarke, our current Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor, will remain in her position until the end of this academic year. Following administrative leave that will begin July 1, Dr. Tomlinson-Clarke will continue to serve as Special Advisor to the Chancellor and in her ongoing faculty role as Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the Graduate School of Education.

I want to express my deepest gratitude to Provost Tomlinson-Clarke for her exceptional leadership and service to our institution. During her tenure, Dr. Tomlinson-Clarke has championed initiatives to support student and faculty success, aligned with the Rutgers–New Brunswick Academic Master Plan. She has led initiatives supporting the success of all students, including transfer and nontraditional students, through academic pathways for timely degree completion. She led initiatives to empower our faculty, including the Center for Faculty Success opening on College Avenue and the Chancellor and Provost Awards for Faculty Excellence. Her leadership of strategic initiatives includes work as co-chair, with Interim Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement Tiffiny Butler, of the steering committee for the renewal of Rutgers–New Brunswick’s Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement.

Dr. Geary currently serves in a dual role as Senior Vice Provost for Academic Initiatives and as Dean of Mason Gross School of the Arts. He will continue to serve in both roles until the end of this academic year. A nationwide search is underway to find the next dean for Mason Gross.

Under his leadership, Mason Gross achieved significant milestones including the launch of interdisciplinary programs such as a minor in Creative Expression and the Environment with the School of Arts and Sciences and School of Environmental and Biological Sciences; the Arts in Health Research Lab with the School of Public Health and New Jersey Performing Arts Center; and the wellness initiative Scarlet Arts Rx with the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology. He established the Mason Gross Office of Advising and Student Success, focusing on wellness, career development, and alumni engagement. He also strengthened engagement with the community, including new partnerships with the New Brunswick Public Schools and the Cicely L. Tyson Community School of Performing and Fine Arts.

Please join me in thanking Dr. Tomlinson-Clarke for her successful leadership as Provost and in welcoming Dr. Geary to his new role as Rutgers–New Brunswick continues its national leadership in setting the bar for excellence in higher education that transforms lives and empowers communities.

Sincerely,

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