Biography

Now in his eighth year as the eighth President of William Paterson University, Dr. Richard J. Helldobler’s commitment to student success as a pathway to opportunity and social mobility is inspired by his personal journey as a first-generation college graduate of immigrant parents and his professional experience over more than three decades of innovative teaching and leadership across higher education.

Since joining William Paterson in 2018, Dr. Helldobler has led the University through a period of transformation and growth focused on putting more life-changing college degrees into the hands of students who are changing the social fabric of New Jersey and our nation. Under his leadership, WP launched several initiatives to advance access, affordability, and success, including Pledge 4 Success, which fills financial aid gaps for qualifying students; Will. Power. 101 & 102, a first-year experience program that improved student retention; Student Success Teams, which provide each student with a dedicated group of academic, financial aid, and other advisors and mentors; and WP Online, which, in five years, has opened new markets and grown to offer 85 fully online undergraduate and graduate degree programs and certificates aligned with industry workforce needs.

President Helldobler is making William Paterson a “Powerhouse of Progress”, and the University’s position in the top 4.5 percent of institutions nationally in CollegeNet’s 2024 Social Mobility Index is just one measure of success. Ranked 54th, WP under President Helldobler’s leadership has climbed nearly 60 spots on the SMI, which measures the extent to which institutions educate more economically disadvantaged students at lower tuition and graduate them into good-paying jobs.

President Helldobler has been widely recognized for his accomplishments on behalf of William Paterson, as well as his contributions to higher education leadership development. He received the 2025 ACE Council of Fellows Mentor Award and the 2024 ACE Reginald Wilson Diversity Leadership Award. He has been recognized for his leadership by top business publications, including being named to the Education Power 50 list by NJBIZ and a 2025 Higher Education Influencer by ROI-NJ. He is an inaugural recipient of the NJBIZ Executive Excellence Award.

Recognizing that the professional success of WP’s employees is directly connected to the educational success of its students, President Helldobler led implementation of an award-winning Summer Professional Development program, and WP was named to the 2025 “Great Colleges To Work For” list and twice named to Forbes’ “Best Employers in New Jersey” list (2024, 2025).

President Helldobler serves on the American Association of State Colleges and University (AASCU) Board of Directors, Executive Committee, and Committee for Student Success, as well as the boards of the New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities, the N.J. Presidents Council, the N.J. Pride Chamber of Commerce, and LGBTQ Presidents in Higher Education, where he is immediate past Board President. He is also a member of the Presidents’ Council of the N.J. Athletic Council.

A trained dancer and theatre director, he earned his Ph.D. and M.A. in Theatre from Bowling Green State University and his B.B.A. in Marketing from the University of Toledo.