Citing ethics investigation, Rutgers-Newark faculty members call for removal of Dean Mattis

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A group calling themselves “Concerned Faculty of Rutgers University-Newark” has demanded Jacqueline S. Mattis, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Newark, or SASN, step down, citing an ethics investigation that began over the summer.

Short of that, the group’s members called for university officials to remove Mattis, stating they no longer have confidence in her.

In the letter released Wednesday, the group said Mattis, who has been dean of the school since July 2020, “can no longer effectively perform her duties … and should step down or be placed on leave from her position immediately as the investigation proceeds.”

Mattis is accused of profiting off the university through a writing retreat company that she co-owns with her sister. The university hired the firm, Easton’s Nook, LLC, to organize writing workshops and retreats, some of which took place in Jamaica. According to records obtained by WHYY News, the school Mattis oversees, as well as the New Brunswick campus, paid for the firm’s services. Rutgers policies and New Jersey’s Conflicts of Interest Law forbid companies partially or wholly owned by state employees from doing business with the university.

The letter further accuses Mattis of creating an expectation that faculty members who attend the private workshops will be favored over those who don’t. It called the alleged arrangement “plainly unacceptable.”

“This is an open door to corruption for one of the most important areas of responsibility that a Dean oversees,” the letter says. “Even now, in Fall 2026, Dean Mattis is viewing and deciding on a slew of SASN tenure and promotion cases, putting her in a position of power over those whom she has advantaged and from whom she has profited by advantaging.”

Rutgers retained Yolanda Ciccone, a former Middlesex County prosecutor and Superior Court judge, to lead the investigation into the ethics complaint against Mattis, which was first reported by NJ.com. The university has suspended business dealings with Easton’s Nook.

University spokeswoman Dory Devlin said Mattis’ employment status and appointment as dean remain unchanged while the matter is under investigation.

“The university takes all complaints of alleged violations of university police seriously and handles such complaints in accordance with the applicable university policies,” Devlin said.