The Gary and Barbara Rodkin Academic Success Center opened its doors in 2021 as the latest physical testament to Rutgers' commitment to develop every generation of Scarlet Knights in academics, leadership, and career preparation. The building's literal door opening is the path to hundreds of metaphorical doors opening as Rutgers student-athletes pursue excellence beyond "the Banks."
 
As the Rutgers community gathers to celebrate the brick and mortar of the building and what it represents as a hallmark of the Scarlet Knights' core values, we also celebrate the people who made the gifts to help this building rise, the mentors who provide guidance inside of its walls, and the supporters whose voices cheer on the Scarlet Knights in athletic and academic pursuits alike.
 
Kathy Jennings and Scott Barbrack embody all three of those characteristics. Their gifts, mentorship, and support are the essence of what constructed the Academic Success Center.
 

Kathy Jennings: The Holistic Approach

 
The Rodkin Academic Success Center, for Kathy Jennings, is the perfect representation of a holistic approach to supporting student-athletes in all aspects of their lives. "What I admire most about Rutgers student-athletes is their balance between excelling in their craft and their dedication to learning and developing as a person," Jennings said. "LDSP is at the center of these student athletes' career preparation, and lately, has expanded to benefit mental health, wellbeing, networking, and how to be an ambassador. LDSP helps to support and shape the human that makes up the athlete we cheer on."
 
The 1993 alumna inherited her love of Rutgers from her father, a diehard Scarlet Knights fan since his graduation in 1968.  Jennings and her father were part of the "Pandemonium in Piscataway," storming the field together after Rutgers shocked No. 3 ranked Louisville in 2006. Now Jennings is in the middle of three generations of season ticket holders, following her father and his college buddies, and passing it on to her two sons.
 
Jennings parlayed her Rutgers education in political science into a law degree from NYU. After almost a decade in private practice, she built a successful career at Estee Lauder, first in the legal department and then as a vice president of human resources. She works every day to help her co-workers solve their work challenges and advance their careers. Giving to the building of the Rodkin Academic Success Center and the new home of Rutgers' Department of Leadership Development and Strategic Partnerships (LDSP) is a perfect way for her to give back to the university that taught her so much by helping Rutgers athletes to develop their own careers.
 
"I believe I have an obligation to support my school in any way I can," Jennings said. "Some people can do it with money, but it's not just about money. You can volunteer your time as a mentor, you can make a connection, you can offer advice. What prompted me to get involved is to support the athlete holistically and prepare them for life after sports, passing on things I learned and hopefully make a difference on their journey."
 
Jennings has supported Rutgers since early in her professional career – first with gifts to the political science program, then with donations to athletic scholarship funds, and now with her contributions to the Rodkin Academic Success Center. But her support goes well beyond gifts with a price tag.
 
Jennings is on the advisory board for LDSP and contributes to the Athlete Network, a digital gathering of Rutgers Athletics alumni to share stories, network, and support each other. As part of LDSP's "Online Knight of Networking," she hosted a panel with student-athletes to discuss interview skills and translating athletic traits to the workplace. On that panel, her paramount message was to translate your strongest traits from athletics – accountability, organization, and focus – into your professional interests. She also stressed the importance of being curious, and of asking questions about each industry and company in which you find yourself.
 
It is Kathy Jennings's lasting legacy at Rutgers – support what you love and give back whatever you can. "I've gotten so much value out of being involved," she said. "It really feels good to be giving back to an institution that gave me so much."
 

Scott Barbrack: A Father's Legacy in Learning

 
From 2021 on, Scarlet Knight student-athletes will study in the Christopher Barbrack Classroom inside the Rodkin Academic Success Center. The name adorning this place of education is a memorial to a man who loved to learn, who loved to teach, and who loved Rutgers basketball.
 
Scott Barbrack was on the ground floor of Rutgers' newest commitment to academic excellence, and knew his gift should honor the life and career of his father, a tenured professor with a stint at Rutgers' Graduate School of Applied Professional Psychology in the 1970s. Scott has an early memory of how much teaching meant to his father, and it seemed Christopher knew how to hold a room's attention.
 
"I would peak in a room, and everyone was really paying attention to him," Barbrack recalled. "And that was at the end of a three-hour class."
 
His father played basketball, something that came a little easier to a 6-foot-5 man. He also loved Rutgers, a place where he learned how to impart knowledge to like-minded academics. Christopher passed away in June of 2020, but not before Scott was able to share the plans of naming the classroom in the Rodkin Academic Success Center after him.
 
"He was humbled by it," Barbrack said. "Rutgers was very important to him. He was happy that his name would be connected with a place associated with education. He hoped his passion for learning would be infectious."
 
Following Scott's time at Rutgers, the Chester, New Jersey native turned his political science degree into a thriving career in business. He is now the managing director at Tullett Prebon, one of the world's leading interdealer brokers. His latest gift to name the classroom was the latest way Barbrack wanted to give back to the school where he learned and met lifelong friends. He has given to the general Big Ten Build fund, which helped capital projects across the athletic department come to fruition, along with donations to the R Scholarship Fund and direct gifts to the football, men's basketball, and men's lacrosse programs.
 
Barbrack gives to support the people that make up the Scarlet Knights. A big fan of the senior administration's direction, and the hiring of Steve Pikiell and Greg Schiano, Barbrack always wanted to see his support land directly with the people who need it.
 
"Once you get involved, you immediately see it goes to great things and helps a lot of people," Barbrack said. "What makes me happy is coaches like Steve and Greg are recruiting the right kind of kids; the kids you want to root for in life. It makes a world of difference in both the product on the court of field, and for the supporters who come out to cheer or donate."
 
Barbrack points to men's lacrosse star Kieran Mullins, a recent Rutgers graduate, a two-time All-American, and the recipient of the prestigious Big Ten Medal of Honor. Barbrack sat next to Mullins at a recent 50-Yard Line Dinner, and realized this was the kind of student-athlete he wanted to help get to the next level.
 
"He was so poised and smart," Barbrack said. "He had everything in front of him, so if I could help get him there, it made complete sense to put my support behind something like that. Supporting student-athletes like Kieran will help Rutgers recruit more like him, kids who come here for the right reasons."