Ralph Gigliotti

Ralph Gigliotti leads presidential operations as chief of staff to the president of Rutgers University. As a senior adviser and strategic partner to the president, he advances institutional priorities through coordination, counsel, and execution across a complex Big Ten research university. He provides leadership on presidential initiatives, oversees the development and implementation of the university’s strategic aims, and ensures alignment across presidential and cabinet-level operations.

A member of the President’s Cabinet and Administrative Council, Gigliotti serves as a trusted intermediary among executive leadership, board members, the University Senate, and external stakeholders, translating presidential vision into actionable strategies and supporting effective decision-making at the highest levels of the institution. His portfolio includes oversight of presidential and cabinet-level operations, the Office of the Secretary, and strategic initiatives, and he coordinates the university’s response to major challenges and crises in close partnership with University Communications and Marketing.

Gigliotti also holds affiliated faculty appointments in the Department of Communication within the School of Communication and Information; the doctoral program in higher education in the Graduate School of Education; the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School; and Rutgers Business School. His research and consulting interests explore leadership, crisis, strategy, team dynamics, organizational communication, and training and development in higher education. He is the author or editor of 10 books and more than 50 peer‑reviewed journal articles and book chapters, serves as president of the Network for Change and Continuous Innovation, and is a member of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Board of Examiners.