Greg Brown elected new head of Rutgers board of governors amid turmoil over campus governance

By Kelly Heyboer/ The Star-Ledger

NEW BRUNSWICK — Rutgers University’s governing board selected a new chairman today amid turmoil over the board’s future.

Greg Brown, chairman and chief executive of Motorola Solutions, was unanimously elected the new head of Rutgers’ board of governors during a meeting in New Brunswick. He will assume the unpaid post July 1.

Brown, who lives in Illinois, takes over for the departing chairman, Gerald Harvey, whose term on the board is expiring at the end of the month. Harvey has served more than 15 years on Rutgers boards, including terms as chairman of the board of governors and board of trustees.

Brown, 53, is a 1982 Rutgers graduate and one of the university’s big donors. He has contributed to construction projects at the football stadium and donated to the psychology program.

Before the meeting, several dozen members of Rutgers’ unions held a rally outside Winants Hall. The “Rally for Respect” was designed to highlight the unions’ fight for new contracts. Many of the unions, who represent 20,000 campus employees, have contracts that are expiring this year.

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