New Chancellor At Rutgers-Newark Will Take Reins In August

NEWARK, NJ — There’s a new chancellor at Rutgers-Newark.

On Thursday, administrators announced that Tonya Smith-Jackson has been appointed chancellor of Rutgers University–Newark, effective August 1.

Smith-Jackson is currently serving as provost and executive vice chancellor for Academic Affairs at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.

Rutgers administrators said that Smith-Jackson is a human factors engineer with “extensive academic leadership experience.” Her appointment – announced jointly by Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway and President-designate William Tate IV – was approved unanimously by the Rutgers Board of Governors on Thursday.

The university provide the following background about the new chancellor’s qualifications:

“Smith-Jackson, who holds a doctorate in psychology/ergonomics and an interdisciplinary master of science degree in psychology and industrial engineering, has served at NC A&T since 2013, where she chaired its Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. At the university, she also directed a cybersecurity center, the Human Factors Analytics Lab and the laboratory for Cyber-Human Analytics Research for the Internet of Things, and served as senior vice provost, leading the establishment of three new Centers of Excellence (Cybersecurity, Product Design and Manufacturing, and Entrepreneurship and Innovation).”

Rutgers administrators continued:

“In her current role, Smith-Jackson has led the creation of three new doctoral programs, the state’s first bachelor's degree program in artificial intelligence and dramatic increases in both research staff and graduate assistants at NC A&T, the nation’s largest HBCU. She also led the university’s process and final recognition as an anchor institution by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities.”

Before arriving at NC A&T, Smith-Jackson spent 14 years at Virginia Tech, rising from assistant to associate to full professor of industrial and systems engineering. She worked as an engineer at IBM and Ericsson Mobile Communications and taught at several higher education institutions and community colleges. She also served for a year at the National Science Foundation (2018-2019) as program director in the NSF’s Cyber-Human Systems Program.

Smith-Jackson said that she has been inspired by her parents’ belief in education as a pathway to “liberation, meaning and purpose” – and wants to help others do the same.

“My success is not possible without chancellors, presidents and leaders I’ve learned from, and each institution’s commitment to scholarship, innovation, academic excellence, community engagement and providing opportunities for all – which is exactly what inspired me to seek out this opportunity to lead Rutgers–Newark,” Smith-Jackson said.

“It’s an incredible honor to join this esteemed institution, and I look forward to working together in shaping a future that honors institutional legacy and embraces bold new opportunities on the horizon,” she added.

Administrators said that Smith-Jackson’s appointment follows a year-long national search which involved “wide-reaching participation across the Rutgers–Newark community.” The search was led by a committee chaired by professor Salamishah Tillet and executive vice president for academic affairs Prabhas Moghe.

Jeffrey Robinson – previously Rutgers–Newark provost and co-founder of The Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development – took over as interim chancellor in July 2024, after former chancellor Nancy Cantor left the post and became president of Hunter College.

Robinson will remain in the position through July 30.

“Tonya Smith-Jackson is a person of principles and values who has dedicated her professional life to making transformative changes in higher education, and she is deeply committed to the mission of Rutgers University–Newark,” Holloway said, also thanking Robinson for leading Rutgers–Newark over the past year.

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