Caltech President Thomas Rosenbaum Announces Retirement

Caltech President and Professor of Physics Thomas Rosenbaum will retire from Caltech and assume emeritus status at the end of the 2026 academic year, according to a campus-wide announcement delivered last Monday.

While initially tapped for a third term, Rosenbaum indicated that he “[felt] strongly that there are natural rhythms in the life of a university, and [fifteen] years seemed too long.” Instead, Rosenbaum will serve for an abbreviated two years, during which the Board of Trustees and faculty will conduct a search for the next Caltech president.

Professor Rosenbaum’s service as president “helped to ensure the security and well-being of our own community while catalyzing research and innovation to help the public both understand and confront these hardships,” remarked Dave Thompson (MS ‘78), chairperson of the Board of Trustees. “I have admired Tom’s ability to function as a top-ranked scientist, an informed historian of higher education, and a constant voice emphasizing the importance of science and technology as a primary means of improving the human experience.”

During Rosenbaum’s tenure, Caltech invested in a broad array of research initiatives and collaborations, including the construction of the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience and the Resnick Sustainability Institute. Both facilities now host robust teaching and research programs, including the laboratories of several Caltech faculty members.

The search process for Rosenbaum’s successor will occur as a joint effort between the Board of Trustees and the Faculty Board, according to an announcement released by Thompson and Gil Refael, chairperson of the Faculty Board. The effort comprises an 11-member Search Committee, tasked with seeking and referring candidates to the search process, and a 10-member Selection Committee, which will interview the candidates and nominate one finalist to the Board of Trustees, which holds final appointing authority.

Rosenbaum will maintain his laboratory group upon assuming emeritus status and has indicated that he intends to remain an active faculty member.