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 Profile
Norman Samuels
Acting president
Education: B.A., McGill University; M.A., Ph.D., Duke University
Previous positions: Newark provost, 1982– 2002; associate dean and dean, Newark College of Arts and Sciences, 1976–1982; professor of political science since 1967
Accomplishments: Oversaw the growth of Rutgers–Newark into a nationally recognized institution for research and education. Collaborated with the presidents of neighboring institutions to revitalize the city and make Newark a leading center for higher education in New Jersey.
Photo by Nick Romanenko
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On Oct. 10, four days after taking office, acting President Norman Samuels met with Focus to discuss some of his goals and plans for the university in the coming year.
Focus: Last spring you stepped down as provost after two decades in that position to return to teaching. What prompted you to accept the role of acting president?
Samuels: While I didn't anticipate that this was where my life was headed, I felt I had to consider it when the board of governors called. I have spent almost my entire career working to make Rutgers a better place. And Rutgers has been a very important part of my family. My wife, Sandra, has worked as a physician at a health clinic at Rutgers–Newark for a long time. Of my four children, my son Joseph graduated from Rutgers College, and my daughter Rebecca was a Rutgers student for a time. So I felt like I owed it to the place to give it my best shot.
Focus: How do you see the role of acting president?
Samuels: Since there's been so much uncertainty surrounding the search for a new president, some broad, complex issues have not been addressed. We need to stop the drift. I believe that if you don't grab hold of a major institution such as Rutgers and begin to move forward again, that institution will run the risk of sliding back. I told the board that the only way I'll serve in an acting role is if I'm able to take a proactive, vigorous approach to the position. I'm not a guy who wants to just turn the lights on and off in an office, even if it's for just a year.
Too many people have been dragging their tails for a long time. Sure, there's a lot of buzz about the Commission on Health Science, Education and Training report, but basic chemistry is still going to be taught and the basic business of the university will continue. And yes, we are going through a period of great uncertainty. But the last thing we need is an attitude of, "Let's wait this out and see where it goes." That's a formula for true disaster. We need to work hard at continuing to improve the caliber of education and the quality of service. This is an excellent place already — let's make it even better.
Focus: What will be your goals during this transitional time?
Samuels: I can't be too specific because I'm still in the mode of trying to learn. But I know that the sheer scale of the New Brunswick campus means it is not always a student-friendly place. In Newark, I couldn't walk 10 feet without saying "hello" or stopping to talk to someone. That collegial feeling is important in terms of building morale and working together. We need to find more humanizing and unifying mechanisms.
I've already met with a contingent from the Targum and have heard concerns about overcrowding, traveling across campus to get from one course to another, and about other student services. We need to keep on top of these things.
I'm not going to solve all the problems in these areas overnight, because we've had some very capable people working on these issues for a long time. But I do believe that we should constantly be working toward making Rutgers a more supportive and welcoming institution.
Focus: Do you have plans to reach out and become better acquainted with the New Brunswick and Camden campuses?
Samuels: Absolutely. We've already had a pizza and beer party for staff in the Old Queen's complex with the idea that we need to make a break and get back to a basic level of energy that the students and state deserve.
I want to hear what faculty and staff from all campuses have to say, as well as give them a sense of who I am and where I'm coming from. Joe Seneca (university vice president for academic affairs) will brief me and hopefully accompany me when I go out to meet the administrative leadership of the colleges in New Brunswick. I also want to meet with faculty, staff and students.
Focus: How will you respond to the report of the governor's Commission on Health, Science, Education and Training, which recommends restructuring of higher education in New Jersey?
Samuels: Dr. Vagelos and the members of the commission have spent many months studying the issues, holding public hearings and developing their recommendations. We, too, need time to read and digest the recommendations, to analyze the report's educational, legal and financial implications, and to hear from the university's own constituencies. The board of governors has already appointed a study group, chaired by board member Duncan MacMillan, to give the report the careful and thoughtful review it deserves.
Regardless of what the structure might turn out to be, the core work of the university remains the same — educating students, conducting research, serving the state. That's not going to change. The quality and the stature of the university will serve us well. The state needs to recognize what a great treasure this university is.
Focus: What role will you play in working with Trenton?
Samuels: A very active one. I enjoy politics and intend to be very vigorous in pursuing the university's interests there. We need to be responsive to our elected officials; they need to be responsive to the needs of their constituents. Higher education and the role that a first-class public university certainly plays is an important part of that equation. There needs to be a climate of mutual respect. This is a partnership in every sense of the word.
Focus: Will you address the increasing demand for a Rutgers education?
Samuels: That goes back to what we just talked about: the partnership between the political leadership and higher education. It's not just a Rutgers issue. Demographic studies indicate that there is going to be an increasing demand among high school students in the next several years for room in our public institutions. The taxpayer who pays for all of our salaries has the right to think that there ought to be room for his kid — if not at Rutgers then somewhere else in the state system.
Focus: What are some of the major changes you've seen in your 30 years at Rutgers?
Samuels: There has been an enormous change throughout New Jersey in who attends college. I've watched with great personal pride as U.S. News and World Report has listed the Newark campus as the most diverse campus in the country for five consecutive years. When I first came to Rutgers–Newark in the 1960s, there was great confrontation between white and black students. For us to have created an atmosphere where a remarkable mix of kids from almost every country in the world not only learn in the classroom, but learn from one another, is a wonderful and very satisfying development. It's one of the truly magnificent things about an affordable public research university.
On a wider scale, Rutgers has gradually been transformed from what were once separate and sometimes sleepy hamlets into one of the nation's great institutions. We are widely respected not only across the country, but also across the world.
Focus: What are your thoughts on maintaining a successful university and the role of a university president?
Samuels: The first component is to have a first-rate faculty at the core. We have a remarkably good faculty on all three campuses, and I plan to work at making more people aware of it. The second component is a sense of distinction and a commitment to scholarship and community.
I don't mean this in a self-serving way, but leadership is also a crucial element. The leader needs to organize the resources, solve problems and set the goals. Sometimes he or she needs to be out front as a cheerleader, other times as a sacrificial lamb. Professors should focus on scholarship and teaching and not worry about whether the air conditioning will work.
The leader must also understand the university's mission and how it facilitates the work of faculty and the learning of students. Sometimes that means finding the money so things can work well; other times it means pushing and prodding various constituencies in and out of the university community.
Focus: What are your views on athletics, and big-time athletics in particular?
Samuels: Sports are not my greatest personal interest. I'd rather curl up with a book and listen to Bach than go to a football game. But I believe that the board of governors is the voice of the people and has made a policy decision in this area. And that decision is that Rutgers will participate on a high level. My job, as I see it, is to carry out that policy.
With that said, I believe very strongly — whether it's athletic teams, the glee club, the debating team or a professor who goes to a professional meeting — that we need to equip them to carry the Rutgers name and banner in the right way. I know there are a lot of people who don't believe we should be involved in big-time athletics, but if we are going to do it, then we need to do it right.
In Newark, I've seen many students who have gotten as much out of their experience in athletics as those who spend all their time in a chemistry lab. Athletics can be an experience where students develop very close friendships and learn a tremendous amount about self- discipline, pushing themselves to excel and establishing clear-cut goals. There is no question in my mind that there is a legitimate place for athletics at a university.
Focus: We seem to be on track to meet the $500 million goal of the Rutgers Campaign. Will you have a role for the remainder of the campaign?
Samuels: I plan to work hard to complete the campaign. Fund raising is an enormously important thing. We cannot accomplish what we want and need to do unless we have the money. Fran Lawrence did a terrific job in the fund-raising area, and we all owe him a great deal for his efforts. The Rutgers Foundation has become a professional machine that knows what it's doing. The level of fund raising we've been at since the start of the campaign needs to become the norm.
I actually enjoy talking to people about money. When you have a first-rate product to sell, you ought not to be embarrassed to go out there and ask people to support it. If it means me having to get on a plane to help, I'm certainly willing to do it.
Focus: When you accepted the position of acting president, you were teaching an American government course in Newark. Will you continue to teach?
Samuels: I'm going to finish teaching that class, which meets Tuesday and Thursday mornings. It may exhaust me, but I'm going to do it. I enjoy it immensely.
Focus: How has the job been so far?
Samuels: As provost, I sometimes spent two or three days a week in New Brunswick as part of the cabinet and serving on the promotion review committee, so I had a very good sense of the challenges. So far there have been no surprises.
But while presidents are important people, large institutions are not run by one person; they're run by hundreds of people each making his or her own area better. All a president can do is be a cheerleader, a coordinator and try to point us in the right direction.
