Rutgers University-Newark and Moving into Spring 2025

Dear Rutgers-Newark:

I hope you all had the opportunity to recharge over the winter break. I took time to celebrate with family and friends, and I hope you all found moments of rest and renewal.

The spring semester is here, and it brings with it the challenge of navigating the winds of change. These winds will come in different forms. At times, they will push us forward, carrying us with momentum. At other times, we will face headwinds, requiring us to dig in and persevere.

Change can be sudden or gradual, but it is inevitable. Rutgers-Newark has always been a place that champions change—a place where we both advocate for progress and embrace the discomfort that often comes with transformation.

With the beginning of the semester, we fervently welcome new students who are starting this spring and witnessing change on campus, including the evolution of space near the Newark Museum.

Mid-semester we will introduce the newly updated and redesigned Rutgers-Newark mascot and invite newly admitted undergraduates to campus during Admitted Student Days. At the end of the spring semester, we will celebrate our newest Rutgers-Newark graduates. And, this summer we will see the opening of the new One Stop in Conklin Hall.

In the next days, weeks, and months, we will experience the transition of administrations in Washington DC, the appointment of new campus and university leadership, and the beginning of a gubernatorial election cycle. All of these changes will have profound impacts on the members of the Rutgers-Newark, individually and as a community.

Through it all, we will remain steadfast in living our Rutgers-Newark values.

I want to restate Rutgers University’s ongoing commitment to free speech and academic freedom <https://www.rutgers.edu/president/our-commitment-to-the-Rutgers-community-as-a-new-semester-begins>. We continue our commitment to supporting and celebrating every one of this incredibly vibrant community of scholars. Our commitment to the city of Newark, Essex County and New Jersey remain resolute. No matter what, Rutgers-Newark continues to support all students, faculty, and staff as we make our way through the many challenges and opportunities on the horizon for the coming year.

Rutgers-Newark has always been and will continue to be resilient.

We would be remiss if we did not acknowledge the pain and loss experienced by those affected by the devastating wildfires in Southern California. Our thoughts are with them, and we stand in community with all those who are enduring such hardship.

In community,  

Jeffrey A. Robinson, Ph.D., Interim Chancellor Prudential Chair, Rutgers Business School