Jonathan Holloway, the president of Rutgers University, will be stepping down at the end of this academic year, ending a turbulent five-year term in which he both strengthened the university and faced criticism and controversy.

Dr. Holloway, a historian of the African American experience who himself made history as Rutgers’ first Black president, said in a message on Tuesday to the Rutgers community that he plans to take a sabbatical in the 2025-26 academic year to work on longstanding research projects. He will then return to teaching at Rutgers full time.

“This decision is my own and reflects my ruminations about how best to be of service,” he said in the message.

In the note, Dr. Holloway said he was proud of what Rutgers had achieved since July 2020, when he started his presidency. Rutgers’ entering class this fall is the largest in its history. Its researchers received a record $970 million in grants this past year. And a new initiative Dr. Holloway championed has provided hundreds of students with paid internships in public service.

But there was also controversy. The school’s athletic director, Pat Hobbs, resigned suddenly in August, followed by news of an internal investigation into his conduct. There were allegations of verbal and emotional abuse of athletes in some of Rutgers’ athletic programs, including on its gymnastics and softball teams.

A strike by thousands of unionized university workers in 2023, which ended after five days with the help of the New Jersey governor, Phil Murphy, was rancorous. Protesters supporting the unions gathered outside of Dr. Holloway’s home, requiring campus police to post a squad car out front. He now has a police escort when he appears in public, he told NJ Advance Media in an interview published on Tuesday morning.