At the Board: April 2018
The Board of Governors honors outgoing university registrar, fills and creates new chairs and a professorship
The following are news and developments from the April 10, 2018, Rutgers Board of Governors meeting:
A gift of $1.5 million has created the Rodkin-Weintraub Chair in Engineering, designed to honor, retain and recruit eminent scholars in the field of engineering, while recognizing innovative and intellectual work. Gary M. RC’74 and Barbara DC’76 Rodkin have provided the funding in honor of their engineer fathers. The chair recognizes the accomplishments of the couple’s fathers, Dennis L. Rodkin ENG’58, who earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at Rutgers, and Leon Weintraub, who earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering degree at New York University. These funds will match the $1.5 million provided by an anonymous donor who pledged to provide matching gifts to created 18 endowed chairs at Rutgers. Read the release.
With an aim to propel precision medicine and other cutting-edge research to better inform treatment decisions for the youngest of patients, the Board of Governors today created the Embrace Kids Foundation Chair in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey. Peter D. Cole, who was recently named chief of pediatric hematology/oncology at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, has been named the proposed first holder of the chair. Cole is currently an associate professor of pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in New York. Read the release.
The Board of Governors today awarded the Krieger Klein Endowed Chair in Alzheimer’s Disease and Neurodegeneration Research to Luciano D’Adamio, a professor of pharmacology, physiology, neuroscience and neurology at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. Internationally recognized as a leader in the field of Alzheimer’s disease research, D’Adamio is known for identifying key molecular mechanisms of age-related neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease. He will lead the newly formed Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, which will bring together current faculty and new recruits to focus on basic and translational research. Read the release.
The Board of Governors appointed Juan González, professor of professional practice in journalism and media studies in the School of Communication and Information, to the Richard D. Heffner Professorship in Communications and Public Policy. Internationally recognized for his scholarly contributions and leadership in communications and public policy, González’s outstanding career in journalism and broadcasting includes 29 years at the New York Daily News where he was a columnist. He also covered major national and international events through his work as a co-host of Democracy Now! – an independent news program that broadcasts across the United States and Canada as well as in countries around the world. Read the release.
A Thank You to Ken Iuso, Outgoing University Registrar
The Board of Governors honored Kenneth J. Iuso, who retired after 53 years of service to Rutgers, with a resolution thanking him for the critical role he has played at the university. Since 1974, Iuso has served as University Registrar with universitywide responsibility for student records, registration and the student records database. Among his accomplishments: improving the student registration process, leading the transformation from old tab cards to an online web registration process, serving as the data custodian for nearly two million student records and servicing the many deans and departments at Rutgers with “the highest standards of personal integrity and unwavering commitment.” The resolution notes that Iuso has offered his “steadfast support and invaluable advice” to five Rutgers presidents throughout the university’s transformation into a nationally recognized public research institution. “Through a passion for his work and kind-hearted thoughtfulness,” the resolution continues, “Ken has made a difference here at Rutgers that will endure long past the conclusion of his tenure.” Kelley Sokolowski, who has been employed with the Office of the Registrar for the last 17 years, took over the position of University Registrar April 1.