Richard Levis McCormick
Born	December 26, 1947 (1947-12-26) (age 62)
Education	Piscataway High School Amherst College (1969) Yale University (1976)
Title	President of Rutgers University
Spouse(s)	Joan Barry McCormick
Parents	Richard Patrick McCormick Katheryne C. Levis
Signature

Richard Levis McCormick (born 26 December 1947 in New Brunswick, New Jersey) is a historian, professor and university administrator currently serving as the nineteenth president of Rutgers University.

Contents 1 Early years 2 McCormick's tenure at Rutgers 3 Published works 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Early years

The son of the late Richard Patrick McCormick, a noted Rutgers professor and administrator, and Katheryne C. Levis, a University administrator, Richard Levis McCormick was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

After graduating from Piscataway High School in Piscataway, New Jersey, McCormick earned his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) from Amherst College in American studies (1969) and subsequently a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in History (1976) from Yale University. Before being appointed the President of Rutgers University in 2002, McCormick served as President of the University of Washington (1995–2002), vice chancellor and provost at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1992–1995) and on the faculty of History, department chairman, and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University (1976-1992).

In 1985, he held a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship as well as a Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Fellowship.

He has been married three times, currently to Joan Barry McCormick. His former marriages were to Cori Jones, a professor at Raritan Valley Community College, and Suzanne Lebsock, a professor in Women's History at Rutgers with whom he has two children, Betsy and Michael.

[edit] McCormick's tenure at Rutgers

McCormick's tenure at Rutgers has been noted for his efforts to broaden and deepen the university's connections with New Jersey. He launched a weeklong annual bus tour of New Jersey for new faculty members, targeted research areas of particular interest to the state (transportation, nutrition, homeland security, climate change), and set up an awards program to encourage faculty service to New Jersey.

McCormick is also focused on the university's responsibility to undergraduate students, insisting that they receive the full benefits of the university's mission as a research university. In 2006, the university's Board of Governors approved his plan to reorganize the undergraduate colleges on the New Brunswick campus into a School of Arts and Sciences and School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, eliminating contradictory admissions and curriculum standards among these undergraduate colleges and emphasizing faculty-student interaction. Some students and alumni criticized this plan, arguing that it sacrifices Rutgers' unique institutional history and culture. This plan went into effect during the 2007-2008 academic year. McCormick followed up by reorganizing Rutgers' alumni relations [1] program and establishing a single university-wide alumni association [2].

In 2008, McCormick established the Rutgers Future Scholars[3] Program in conjunction with a series of initiatives designed to increase the diversity of the university population. Fifty eighth-grade students per year from each of the university’s host cities of Newark, Camden, New Brunswick, and Piscataway will be invited to visit campus regularly, engage in college preparation activities, and receive mentoring, with the guarantee of free tuition at Rutgers for all those who earn admission after high school.

In November, he announced Rutgers Against Hunger[4], an initiative to stock food banks in the state, provide consumer education on nutrition, and help community organizations fight hunger.

McCormick has made new investments in Rutgers’ campuses, responding to student demand for additional housing, classroom repairs, and renovated or expanded student-life facilities. In 2007 McCormick announced plans for redevelopment of the Livingston Campus in Piscataway, New Jersey,focused on professional education; a 2008 anonymous gift of $13 million, the largest private gift in Rutgers’ history, has been earmarked for a new business school facility on that campus. In 2006 he held an international design competition to “green” the College Avenue Campus in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Some detractors said the designs, including those of the winning firm, were too modern for the historic campus, but others praised the proposed use of open space and planned transportation improvements.

His compensation in 2007 was $1,065,056.34 USD, which included a $500,000 one-time retention bonus for serving the university for five years.

McCormick has also come under fire recently for being too lax on oversight towards the Athletic Department. McCormick and the Board of governors are currently accused of mismanagement of the Athletic department in regards to its football program, including sponsorship deals for Coach Greg Schiano which may represent a conflict of interest^[1].

[edit] Published works

• From Realignment to Reform: Political Change in New York State, 1893–1910. (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1981). ISBN 0-8014-1326-5
• Progressivism. with Arthur S. Link. (Arlington Heights, IL: Harlan Davidson, 1983). ISBN 0-88295-814-3
• Political Parties and the Modern State. (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1984). ISBN 0-8135-1027-9
• The Party Period and Public Policy: American Politics from the Age of Jackson to the Progressive Era. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1986). ISBN 0-19-504784-2
• Public Life in Industrial America, 1877-1917 (American Historical Association, 1997). ISBN 0-87229-091-3

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Office of the University President (at the Rutgers University website)

Academic offices
Preceded by Francis L. Lawrence	President of Rutgers University 2002–present	Succeeded by incumbent
Preceded by William P. Gerberding	President of the University of Washington 1995–2002	Succeeded by Lee L. Huntsman, acting

v • d • e Presidents of Rutgers University Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh (1785-1790) · William Linn (1791-1795) · Ira Condict (1795-1810) · John Henry Livingston (1810–1825) · Philip Milledoler (1825–1840) · Abraham Bruyn Hasbrouck (1840-1850) · Theodore Frelinghuysen (1850–1862) · William Henry Campbell (1862–1882) · Merrill Edward Gates (1882-1890) · Austin Scott (1891-1906) · William Henry Steele Demarest (1906-1924) · John Martin Thomas (1925-1930) · Philip Milledoler Brett (1930-1931) · Robert Clarkson Clothier (1932-1951) · Lewis Webster Jones (1951-1958) · Mason Welch Gross (1959-1971) · Edward J. Bloustein (1971–1990) · Francis Leo Lawrence (1990–2002) · Richard Levis McCormick (2002– )