Faculty play a major role in guiding university policy and procedures through shared governance with the boards and senior administration. The Rutgers University Senate is a universitywide representative body. The Newark Faculty Council, the Camden Faculty of Arts and Sciences Senate, and the New Brunswick Faculty Council also provide advice and guidance.
Rutgers’ unique history as a colonial college, a land-grant institution, and a state university, helped shape its current governance structure. From its founding as Queen’s College in 1766 until it was reorganized as The State University of New Jersey in 1956, Rutgers was governed by a Board of Trustees.
In 1956, state law created the Rutgers University Board of Governors as the governing body of the university and kept the Board of Trustees in an advisory capacity with certain fiduciary responsibilities. The Rutgers president implements board policies with the help and advice of senior administrators and other members of the university community.