Message from the Chancellor: the Passing of a Dear Rutgers-Newark Colleague

Dear Rutgers University – Newark community members,

I am heartbroken to share that our dear friend and revered colleague, Jerome D. Williams, passed away this afternoon unexpectedly. As Prudential Chair in Business at Rutgers Business School and former Provost of Rutgers-Newark, Jerome made an impact as a leader here and across Rutgers that is simply inestimable. Likewise, he was a leader in his field of marketing and renowned across the universe of business schools as an innovator and advocate regarding the urgency of diversifying the professoriate. Indeed, his impact on every level will reverberate for many years to come, as surely as his warmth, wisdom, care, and humor will reverberate among all who knew him.

With the leave of Jerome’s wife, Lillian, a friend to so many of us, we are sharing this information now as we prepare to join with Dean Lei Lei and the Rutgers Business School community in planning to memorialize Jerome more fully in the coming days and weeks. We will share further information about arrangements as it becomes available.

Our hearts are with Lillian, their children and grandchildren, and all whose lives Jerome touched as a friend, colleague, mentor, and teacher.

In shared sorrow,

Nancy Cantor
Chancellor