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Rutgers University President William Tate IV announced Brian Strom, the inaugural chancellor of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS) as well as leader of Rutgers Health, will step down at the end of the fall 2025 semester. His exit comes after more than a decade of transformative leadership.

Appointed in 2013, Strom helped establish Rutgers Health as a top-tier academic health system that advanced research, education, and care in New Jersey — and beyond.

“Dr. Strom — an eminent clinical epidemiologist and a founder of the field of pharmacoepidemiology — has brought vision, passion, energy, and wisdom to his job every day, and his imprint on Rutgers’ excellence is unmistakable,” Tate wrote in a letter to the Rutgers community announcing the news. “Under his leadership, Rutgers Health has become a research powerhouse that has served the health needs of New Jersey with outstanding patient care, health professions education, biomedical research, and community service.”

Tate noted key accomplishments under Strom’s leadership, including:

• Secured $4 billion in federal research funding since 2013, including $608 million in fiscal year 2025
• Recruited nationally prominent faculty across a range of disciplines
• Supported the establishment of:
  • Rutgers Global Health Institute
  • Brain Health Institute
  • Rutgers Institute for Translational Medicine and Science
  • As well as many other research-based centers and institutes
• Signed a landmark affiliation with RWJBarnabas Health, creating New Jersey’s leading academic health system
• Unified and elevated Rutgers’ nursing schools into one nationally ranked program
• Led major capital projects, including:
  • The renovation of the Newark Medical Science Building
  • Construction of a new, 13-story Robert Wood Johnson Medical School facility in New Brunswick
• During the COVID-19 pandemic, Strom positioned Rutgers as a national leader in vaccine trials, testing innovation and pandemic response. That included early graduation of medical students to join the front lines
• Championed the plan for Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and New Jersey Medical School to seek accreditation as a unified Rutgers School of Medicine

NJBIZ has recognized Strom on the Power 100, Power Health and Power Education lists.

Dr. Strom … has brought vision, passion, energy, and wisdom to his job every day, and his imprint on Rutgers’ excellence is unmistakable.
– William Tate IV, Rutgers president

Tate said Rutgers will launch a nationwide search for Strom’s successor and appoint an interim chancellor.

“There is much more that can and will be said about the work Brian Strom has accomplished as chancellor, and I want to applaud him for a historic and highly successful tenure at Rutgers,” said Tate. “New Jersey has benefited greatly from his efforts in shaping Rutgers Health, and we are a stronger university overall because of his leadership of our biomedical division.

“We look forward to celebrating this in various ways in the coming months.”