At midnight on December 31, we greet 2025 after a year of major advancements and achievements at Rutgers as we came together in the pursuit of excellence. Take a look at some of the most popular Rutgers stories of 2024, chronicling growth and innovation in research and teaching in service to our communities, our nation and the world.
Rutgers Holds Firm to Record-Breaking Gains in U.S. News Rankings
See where Rutgers-Camden, Rutgers-Newark, and Rutgers-New Brunswick landed in the 2025 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings. Read more.
Rutgers Then and Now Explores Transformation of Historic College Avenue Campus Over the Centuries
Did you know there used to be a New Jersey garden on College Ave? See how the iconic Rutgers campus evolved over the decades in a new book by three longtime faculty. Read more.
Formerly Incarcerated Student Earns Prestigious Truman Scholarship
The Rutgers-Camden junior served as a teacher's aide while in prison – helping fellow inmates obtain their high school diplomas and GEDs – which inspired him to pursue his own college degree. Read more.
Rutgers Alumni Shine at the 2024 Summer Olympics
Check out our recap of the winning weekend for the Scarlet Knights who represented their countries well on the world stage and the dramatic action that led to three podium finishes. Read more.
Rutgers Professor Wins Pulitzer Prize for Her Book, Night Watch
Jayne Anne Phillips’ Night Watch is a novel set in West Virginia’s Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in the aftermath of the Civil War. It tells the story of a wounded Union veteran, a 12-year-old girl and her abused mother. Read more.
Rutgers to Launch Democracy Lab to Strengthen Civic Engagement and Promote Constructive Discourse
University leaders announced a long-term initiative to support civic education and create broad civic engagement opportunities with a strong emphasis on student involvement. Read more.
A Degree Decades in the Making: The 71-Year-Old Doctoral Student
When many of her contemporaries are settling into retirement, Veronica Charles is just getting started on the next chapter of her nursing career. Read more.
Rutgers Health Researchers Develop Software to Predict Diseases
The first-of-its-kind software created at Rutgers Health combines conventional statistical methods with cutting-edge machine learning algorithms to help predict diseases in individuals. Read more.
Rutgers-New Brunswick Is a Top Producer of Fulbright Recipients Again
A total of 12 from Rutgers-New Brunswick were offered awards from the prestigious educational exchange program. Learn more about them. Read more.
Rutgers Grad Wins Backing on Shark Tank for Therapeutic Soap
Here is the story behind a therapeutic soap massage bar cooked up in the kitchen of a Rutgers physical therapy graduate, which recently earned the backing of billionaire Mark Cuban on the ABC show Shark Tank. Read more.
After Giving Birth on the Way to the Hospital, Doctoral Student Defends Dissertation the Same Day
The director of the Aresty Research Center had her second child a month early, then decided to complete her second major milestone of the day from her hospital bed. Read more.
Sikh Police Officer Finds Welcome at Rutgers While Opening Doors for Others
Gurwinder Singh faced hurdles along the way to joining law enforcement until he applied to Rutgers, becoming one of the state’s first Sikh officers to wear his articles of faith, including a turban and a beard, on duty. Read more.
Why Is the Stanley Water Bottle So Popular?
How does a product become the item of the moment, and is it good for business? A Rutgers marketing expert unpacks the Stanley tumbler craze. Read more.
Alumna Leads Coverage of Those Close Election Polls for The Washington Post
Emily Guskin shares what it's like reporting on the numbers and key issues facing voters during election season as The Post's deputy polling director. Read more.
Study Reveals Who Is Most Likely to Believe COVID Misinformation
New research sheds light on why some people succumb to conspiracy theories and bogus beliefs and others don't as Americans looked back on the fourth anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more.
From Law and Order: Special Victims Unit to Rutgers Business School
You might recognize Michael Worden for his appearances in television, stage and film productions, but his latest starring role is as a student in Rutgers Executive MBA program. Read more.
Five Rutgers Alumni Tapped for Induction Into the University’s Hall of Distinguished Alumni
Meet the Rutgers graduates who were the newest members honored in the university’s Hall of Distinguished Alumni. Read more.
Rutgers Names Commencement Speakers
Freeman Hrabowski III was awarded an honorary doctor of letters degree when he addressed graduates at the Rutgers-New Brunswick and Rutgers Health commencement, as were Tariq Trotter, aka Black Thought of The Roots, who addressed the Rutgers-Newark commencement, and New Jersey Secretary of Higher Education Brian Bridges, who addressed the Rutgers-Camden commencement. Read more.
President Holloway Upholds Presidential Tradition in Moderation of Eagleton’s “The Morning After” Post-Election Discussion
After a contentious election that divided the country, in the end, the institutions that uphold democracy prevailed, experts said during a discussion with President Holloway. Read more.
