Advancing Our Vision: Year Four Strategic Plan Progress

May 4, 2026

Dear Rutgers Health Community,

As we conclude the fourth year of our Rutgers Health Strategic Plan, we are proud to reflect on a year defined by both transition and momentum. We honored the extraordinary legacy of our inaugural chancellor, Brian L. Strom, whose leadership helped shape Rutgers Health into a nationally recognized academic health center. It is a privilege to build on that strong foundation as Rutgers Health continues to advance a shared vision for the future.

During this fourth year, we have continued to deepen our commitment to improving health for all through transformative education and training, groundbreaking research and innovation, outstanding clinical care, and meaningful community engagement. Across our mission areas, we are not only advancing ideas, we are also implementing them and tracking their impact.

As in years past, we can point to meaningful progress from vision to success. From planning to opening, New Jersey’s first and only freestanding, comprehensive cancer hospital is now transforming care for patients across the state and beyond. From classroom excellence to global recognition, a Rutgers pharmacy student earned a Rhodes Scholarship, one of the most prestigious academic honors in the world. From breakthrough discovery to lasting outcomes, Rutgers-led cell therapy research has resulted in decade-long cancer-free survival, advancing the frontier of curative cancer treatment. And from connection to milestone, Vets4Warriors reached one million peer support interactions, touching the lives of veterans and their families nationwide.

Our current update highlights some of the ways members of Rutgers Health are turning strategic vision into action. On the Year Four progress page, you will find uplifting stories that illustrate how Rutgers Health is advancing our nine strategic goals and making a tangible difference across the communities we serve, along with a summary of our most significant accomplishments listed by strategic theme, while recognizing that some of the listed accomplishments involve more than one strategic area.

We are grateful to the strategic plan committees and to every member of the Rutgers Health community who continue to bring this vision to life. Your dedication and engagement, expertise, and compassion fuel our collective progress and move us closer to our aspiration of becoming one of the nation’s leading academic health centers. We welcome your continued input and feedback.

As we look ahead, we are building and growing a multidisciplinary and multi-dimensional academic health center that collaborates across Rutgers University and with our health systems partners. Truly, the sum is greater than its parts. Thank you for all your contributions to the Rutgers Health mission and values; we are honored to be part of the Rutgers Health family.

Sincerely,

Joseph A. Barone, PharmD, FCCP
Dean and Distinguished Professor, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy
Strategic Plan Co-Chair, Rutgers Health

Shawna Hudson, PhD
Professor and Henry Rutgers Chair of Family Medicine and Community Health,
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

Vice Chancellor for Dissemination and Implementation Science
Strategic Plan Co-Chair, Rutgers Health

Bishr Omary, MD, PhD
Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research
Rutgers Health

Robert L. Johnson, MD, FAAP
Dean, New Jersey Medical School
Interim Chancellor, Rutgers Health