One of the most powerful and highly paid administrators at Rutgers University has resigned after just one year on the job, a surprising and abrupt departure he attributed to conflicting views with the university.

Debasish "Deba" Dutta, the chancellor of Rutgers' New Brunswick campus, submitted his resignation Tuesday, according to the university.

He made a base salary of $480,000 last school year and will receive a chancellor's salary during a one-year sabbatical before returning as a distinguished professor in the School of Engineering, according to Rutgers.

Dutta's short tenure and the timing of his announcement, just before a new school year, are extremely rare at a university where top administrators often give notice a year before stepping down to give Rutgers time to do a nationwide search for a replacement.

Dutta previously worked at other Big Ten universities where the chancellor was effectively the university president and carried more power, said Peter McDonough, Rutgers senior vice president for external affairs.

Asked if Dutta was asked to resign by President Robert Barchi, McDonough said, "They had a mutual agreement."

"There was a mutual belief that this was not a good fit and that it was in everyone's best interest to just do what's best for the university and move on," McDonough said.

In a letter to students, Dutta attributed his departure to conflicting visions for the position.

"It has become clear that my vision for the chancellorship is not in alignment with that of the University," Dutta wrote. "It is only fair that I step aside and let the University select a new leader for the New Brunswick campus."

Introducing Dutta last spring, Barchi praised him for his "impeccable academic credentials, solid administrative leadership and deep experience at three Big Ten institutions."

Dutta admitted he had a lot to learn about Rutgers but said he saw it as a university on the rise. He outlined a plan to raise Rutgers' status in college rankings and was highly visible on campus, becoming somewhat of a mini-celebrity who students playfully poked fun at on social media.

"It's a good thing if the students get a chance to say whatever is on their mind about me, good or bad," Dutta said last fall.

Before coming to Rutgers, Dutta was the provost and executive vice president for academic affairs and diversity at Purdue University.

He was also the associate provost and dean of the graduate school at the University of Illinois following 20 years as an engineering professor at the University of Michigan.

Those universities all have a more traditional power structure than Rutgers, where chancellors in New Brunswick, Newark and Camden report to the university president, McDonough said.

"I think there's just sort of a structural, cultural difference in the role of the chancellor," he said. "It just didn't make for a good fit for anybody."

In a letter to students and faculty, Barchi said Dutta "served admirably" and he wishes him the best.

Christopher Molloy, currently the university's senior vice president for research and economic development, will become the interim chancellor in New Brunswick.

Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook.