College/University presidents and chancellors

Harvard University (Cambridge, MA)
- PRESIDENT: Lawrence S. Bacow [email: president@harvard.edu]
  - (Bio) “As President of Tufts from 2001 to 2011, Bacow advanced the university’s commitment to excellence in teaching, research, and public service and fostered collaboration across the university’s eight schools. Under his leadership, Tufts pursued initiatives to enhance the undergraduate experience, deepen graduate and professional education and research in critical fields, broaden international engagement, and promote active citizenship among members of the university community.
  - Bacow convened an international conference of higher education leaders in 2005 to initiate the Talloires Network, a global association of colleges and universities committed to strengthening the civic roles and social responsibilities of higher education. He launched Tufts’ Office of Institutional Diversity and highlighted inclusion as a cornerstone of the university’s excellence.”
  - History with CRT: “(wiki) In the early 1980s, students of color at Harvard Law School organized protests regarding Harvard’s lack of racial diversity in the curriculum, among students, and in the faculty. These students supported Professor Derrick Bell, who left Harvard Law in 1980 to become the dean at University of Oregon School of Law. During his time at Harvard, Bell had developed new courses that studied American law through a racial lens. Harvard students of color wanted faculty of color to teach the new courses in his absence.
Stanford University (Palo Alto, CA)
- PRESIDENT: Marc Tessier-Lavigne [email: president@stanford.edu]
  - (Bio) “Pioneering neuroscientist, biotechnology executive and academic leader Marc Tessier-Lavigne became Stanford University’s eleventh president on September 1, 2016….At a national and international level, Dr. Tessier-Lavigne has been an active spokesperson for societal support of science, through editorials, advocacy and congressional testimony.”
  - Stanford Law School is teaching a public law class on CRT. Their law library maintains a page on Cultural Competency and Research Positionality: Critical Race Theory.
Cornell University (Ithaca, NY)
- PRESIDENT: Martha E. Pollack [email: president@cornell.edu] (607) 255-5201
  - (Bio) Martha E. Pollack is the fourteenth president of Cornell University and professor of computer science, information science, and linguistics. She took office on April 17, 2017. “Cornell was founded with the radical ambition of being an institution “where any person can find instruction in any study” and where “truth shall be sought for truth’s sake.”
  - “Today, I am proud to lead Cornell as its fourteenth president and to uphold its founding ethos of equity and openness, its commitment to free speech and civil discourse, and its mission of knowledge for a public purpose“
  - As the only land-grant university in the Ivy League, Cornell combines the highest standards of teaching and research with a public mission to discover, preserve, and disseminate knowledge.
  - She sees Cornell’s foundational commitment to diversity and equity as central to our identity and success, and has engaged the entire university in the work of building an open, inclusive community whose members communicate effectively across difference.”
Yale University (New Haven, CT)
- PRESIDENT: Peter Salovey [email: president@yale.edu] 203-432-2550
  - (Bio) Peter Salovey is the twenty-third president of Yale University and the Chris Argyris Professor of Psychology. He holds secondary faculty appointments in the School of Management, the School of Public Health, the Institution for Social and Policy Studies, and the Sociology Department. He became president of the university in July 2013
  - He is advancing innovative teaching on campus; amplifying Yale’s partnerships in Africa, Asia, and other parts of the world; and enhancing interdisciplinary collaboration and entrepreneurial opportunity for faculty and students. President Salovey is committed to increasing access to a Yale education for students worldwide regardless of their financial background.
  - Prior to becoming president, President Salovey served as the provost of Yale University from 2008 to 2013. As provost, he facilitated strategic planning and initiatives such as enhancing career development and mentoring opportunities for all Yale faculty members; promoting faculty diversity; creating the Office of Academic Integrity; establishing the University-wide Committee on Sexual Misconduct; developing the West Campus; and overseeing the university’s budget during the global financial crisis.
California Institute of Technology (Pasadena, CA)
- PRESIDENT: Thomas F. Rosenbaum [email: president@caltech.edu] (626) 395-6301
  - (Q&A)On July 1, Thomas Rosenbaum will take ofﬁce as the ninth president in Caltech’s history after more than 30 years at the University of Chicago—ﬁrst as a physicist and faculty member; next as director of its Materials Research Laboratory and, later, its interdisciplinary James Franck Institute; then as vice president for research and for Argonne National Laboratory; and, ultimately, as the university’s provost…Q: UChicago is a pioneer in diversity. What did you learn through the process of expanding diversity that may be applicable at Caltech? Rosenbaum: “Diversity is integral to the values and success of Caltech; it is not an add-on. Universities are in the essential business of attracting the most original, creative, and compelling scholars and creating an environment of unflinching inquiry and challenge. These aspects of academic eminence require faculty, students, and staff from a wide range of backgrounds and with diverse perspectives.“
Princeton University (Princeton, NJ)
- PRESIDENT: Christopher L. Eisgruber [email: eisgrube@princeton.edu]
  - (Bio) “As president, Eisgruber has led efforts to increase the representation of low-income and first-generation students at Princeton and other colleges and universities. Princeton’s socioeconomic diversity initiatives have attracted national attention from The New York Times, The Washington Post, 60 Minutes and other news outlets. Eisgruber has also been a leading voice in Washington and elsewhere for the value of research and liberal arts education. He has emphasized the importance of both free speech and inclusivity to Princeton’s mission; championed the University’s commitment to service; and launched initiatives designed to fortify Princeton’s connections to the innovation ecosystem in New Jersey and beyond.”
University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA)
- PRESIDENT: Dr. Amy Gutmann [email: president@upenn.edu]
  - (Bio) The eighth President of the University of Pennsylvania, serving since 2004, Amy Gutmann is an internationally renowned leader. Named by Fortune in 2018 as one of the “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders,” Gutmann is a prominent advocate for access to education and health care, for innovations borne of multi-disciplinary collaborations, and for the transformative impact of universities, locally, nationally, and globally.
  - A first-generation, low-income college student herself, President Gutmann has more than doubled the number of students from first-generation, low-income, and middle-income families attending Penn.
  - President Gutmann also has pushed Penn to the forefront in civic engagement by converting an abandoned parking lot into Penn Park, a 24-acre urban oasis opened in 2011 that connects Penn’s campus to the center of Philadelphia. Design Philadelphia called Penn Park an “urban sanctuary” in the city. In thinking green, President Gutmann has also led efforts to establish a Climate Action Plan in 2009, which has been revamped every five years since.
  - She has published widely on the value of education and deliberation in democracy, on the importance of access to higher education and health care, on “the good, the bad, and the ugly” of identity politics, and on the essential role of ethics—especially professional and political ethics—in public affairs.
University of Chicago (Chicago, IL)
- PRESIDENT:
  – Current to June: Robert J. Zimmer. [email: president@uchicago.edu]
  – In September – Paul Alivisatos [paul.alivisatos@berkeley.edu]
  - (Bio of Paul Alivisatos) An accomplished leader in higher education and a world-renowned scientist, Alivisatos, 61, is currently executive vice chancellor and provost at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the Samsung Distinguished Professor of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in the Department of Chemistry and the former director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
  - As Berkeley’s executive vice chancellor and provost, Alivisatos has been responsible for the planning, development, implementation, and improvement of campus academic programs and policies. Since taking the role in 2017, he supported new initiatives to increase diversity in the undergraduate and graduate student body and achieve greater faculty and leadership diversity. He also has been deeply engaged in issues of free speech and social justice.
  - “…The [Faculty Advisory] committee believes he will be an outstanding partner, with a deep commitment to rigorous academic inquiry and innovative approaches to interdisciplinary scholarship, research and education.”
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA)
- PRESIDENT: L. Rafael Reif [email: president@mit.edu]
  - (Bio) Since July 2012, Rafael Reif has served as the 17th president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He leads MIT’s pioneering efforts to help redefine the future of higher education in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and its economic consequences, with a commitment to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion.
  - In education, his central focus has been the development of MITx and edX, which he spearheaded in his previous role as MIT’s provost. While fostering the rapid growth of the open online learning platform edX, he charged the Institute-wide Task Force on the Future of MIT Education, which spurred rapid adoption of blended learning models in MIT classrooms and the introduction of the MicroMasters credential from MITx (the Institute’s portfolio of massive open online courses), inverting the traditional admissions process by allowing applicants to demonstrate their ability to handle MIT graduate-level material before applying to a master’s degree program.
  - For his work in developing MITx, he received the 2012 Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Award, and in 2015 the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation honored him with the Frank E. Taplin, Jr. Public Intellectual Award for his leadership in envisioning “what higher education must become in a global, digital, information economy.
New York University (New York, NY)
- PRESIDENT: Andrew Hamilton [email: andrew.hamilton@nyu.edu]
  - (Message) With a world-class faculty that sets a global standard for academic excellence, the largest number of international students among U.S. universities, and the largest number of students studying abroad, NYU is among the most respected and desirable universities in the world.
  - NYU is reimagining what it is to be a university in the 21st century: pioneering research, outstanding teaching, and a presence across the globe that fosters the international, interconnected perspective so necessary in our modern world.
  - (Bio) Under President Hamilton’s leadership, NYU has made significant advances. Applications for first-year admission have increased by 40 percent, and this fall the University welcomed the most selective and diverse freshman class in its history…President Hamilton put into place the lowest year-to-year increase in cost-of-attendance in two decades, in support of his priority of making NYU more affordable and accessible.
University of CA (Los Angeles, CA)
- CHANCELLOR: Gene Block [email: chancellor@ucla.edu]
  - (Bio) An expert in neuroscience, Chancellor Block’s current research focuses on the effects of aging in the nervous system and how it impacts biological timing in mammals, including humans. He holds faculty appointments in psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and in integrative biology and physiology in the UCLA College of Letters and Science.
  - He has defined academic excellence, civic engagement, diversity and financial security as top priorities for his administration. A champion of public universities, his dedication to access and affordability has enhanced UCLA’s position as a national leader in enrolling undergraduates who are Pell Grant recipients, come from underrepresented groups and go on to become first-generation college graduates
  - Under Chancellor Block’s leadership, UCLA has been named the number one public university in the United States, has grown its profile internationally and receives $1 billion annually in research grants.
Columbia University (New York, NY)
- PRESIDENT: Lee C. Bollinger [email: bollinger@columbia.edu]
  - (Bio) President Bollinger is one of the country’s most respected First Amendment scholars. He has two books out in 2021: National Security, Leaks and Freedom of the Press: The Pentagon Papers Fifty Years On with Geoffrey R. Stone and Regardless of Frontiers: Global Freedom of Expression in a Troubled World with Agnès Callamard.
  - (Bio) As president of the University of Michigan, Bollinger led the school’s historic litigation in Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger, Supreme Court decisions that upheld and clarified the importance of diversity as a compelling justification for affirmative action in higher education. He speaks and writes frequently about the value of racial, cultural, and socioeconomic diversity to American society through opinion columns, media interviews, and public appearances around the country.
  - (Bio) President Bollinger and Indiana University President Michael McRobbie co-chaired the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on the Future of Voting, which studied the issues of accessibility, reliability and verifiable technology in American elections. On September 6, 2018, the Committee released its findings in a report called Securing the Vote: Protecting American Democracy.
  - (Bio) Columbia will recognize Juneteenth Again this year. “Let us all reflect upon, honor, and celebrate the events, people, and values enshrined in this important day in our nation’s history.” By Lee C. BollingerApril 26, 2021
University of Washington (Seattle, WA)
- PRESIDENT: Ana Mari Cauce [email: president@uw.edu) 206 543-5010
  - Ana Mari Cauce is the 33rd president of the UW. A professor of psychology and member of the UW faculty since 1986, she was named president in October 2015. Under her leadership, the UW is advancing all areas of its educational, research and service missions, with initiatives focused on innovation, race and equity, and population health.
  - (Bio) Throughout her career, Cauce has championed access to higher education, including through the Husky Promise, which provides full tuition to eligible Washington students who otherwise could not attend college. As part of her strong belief in ensuring access to higher education for all, just one month into her role as interim president she engaged students in an honest discussion about race and equity, launching an effort to create a more just and diverse community.
Georgetown University (Washington DC)
- PRESIDENT: John J. DeGioia [email: president@georgetown.edu]
  - (Bio) Dr. DeGioia earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Georgetown University in 1979 and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University in 1995.As President, Dr. DeGioia is dedicated to deepening Georgetown’s tradition of academic excellence, its commitment to its Catholic and Jesuit identity, its engagement with the Washington, D.C. community, and its global mission. He has been presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Academia by the Sons of Italy, and the “Catholic in the Public Square Award” by Commonweal (2012). He was honored as a “Brave Thinker” by The Atlantic (2012), and as “Washingtonian of the Year” by Washingtonian magazine (2008).
  - Working Group on Slavery, Memory & Reconciliation: President DeGioia has charged this working group with providing advice and recommendations on how best to acknowledge and recognize Georgetown’s historical relationship with the institution of slavery; examine and interpret the history of certain sites on our campus, to include Mulledy Hall; and convene events and opportunities for dialogue.
  - According to this article from February, they still have a long way to go.
  - There is apparently still room for improvement.
Northwestern University (Evanston, IL)
- PRESIDENT: Morton O. Schapiro [email: nu-president@northwestern.edu][Copy to j-remington@northwestern.edu, eyljr@northwestern.edu]
  - (Bio) Morton Schapiro is among the nation’s leading authorities on the economics of higher education, with particular expertise in the area of college financing and affordability. He is a Professor of Economics in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and holds appointments in the Kellogg School of Management and School of Education and Social Policy. President Schapiro has written more than 100 articles and written or edited nine books. The books include: Minds Wide Shut: How the New Fundamentalisms Divide Us .
  - (Systemic Change) “To the Northwestern community, Jurors have begun their deliberations in the trial of Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer charged with killing George Floyd. Northwestern, like the rest of the world, is watching. We recognize the injustices that led us here. These injustices continue to deprive too many Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) individuals of their life and full humanity. Tragically, those injustices will not end regardless of the verdict rendered.
    - Universities, including Northwestern, are and must continue to be instruments for discourse, rigorous debate and lasting change. Teaching, learning and reflection are the gateways for individual and societal transformation. We believe that scholarship, dialogue and activism will be mechanisms that help drive action against all systems that exclude and harm BIPOC individuals.
    - Through decades of dedication by faculty, staff and students, Northwestern is unifying its resources and influence to uproot injustices. Our community members continue to advocate to improve our campus, our nation and our world. They lift their voices and continue to call on all of us to be better.
    - We, as a University, will not stop until our institutional structures are equitable and just. We invite our community to join us in affirming our commitment to the pursuit of systemic change, to reexamine community safety and the carceral state, and to end anti-Blackness, racism and bigotry in all forms.“
Dartmouth College (Evanston, IL)
- PRESIDENT: Philip J. Hanlon [email: Philip J. Hanlon ’77]
  - (Bio) As president, Hanlon has championed academic excellence and encouraged innovation in scholarship and teaching. He has launched initiatives to build interdisciplinary strength around global challenges, expanded opportunities for experiential learning, and initiated new seed funding programs to support cutting-edge research and creative endeavors.
  - Under Hanlon’s leadership, Dartmouth has also launched a comprehensive set of initiatives designed to combat high-risk behaviors while building a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable environment for students, faculty, and staff. Among them are Moving Dartmouth Forward (2015), Inclusive Excellence (2016) and, most recently, the Campus Climate and Culture Initiative (2019), which is aimed specifically at creating a learning environment free from sexual harassment and the abuse of power.
University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)
- PRESIDENT: Carol L. Folt, PhD [email: presiden t@usc.edu]
- (Bio) Dr. Carol L. Folt serves as the twelfth president of the University of Southern California. She is a highly experienced leader, internationally recognized life scientist, and award-winning teacher.
- (Update on Racial Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Task force REDI) Last June, we announced a series of actions to advance our efforts at fostering excellence, diversity, access, and a sense of belonging and inclusion across our campuses. Thousands of you have participated in these efforts, and with your input, we have either completed or made substantial progress on all of the action items.
  - REDI recommendations touch on nearly every corner of the Trojan community, including recruitment and retention, programs and curriculum, research and evaluation, culture and values, and resources for support of these initiatives. Some recommendations can be implemented quickly, some are already in process, and others will require additional evaluation.
  - A new committee of students, faculty, and staff has begun meeting to consider a process for re-naming the Center for International and Public Affairs, formerly named for Rufus von KleinSmid. [a supporter of eugenics and openly hostile to Japanese Americans.]
  - USC Provost Michael Quick: “With every generation, there is a need to recommit to the ideals of what it means to live in a democracy, what it means to enact equality and what it means to be an engaged citizen,” Quick said in an email to the Daily Trojan. “Such actions bring us a little closer to the ideals we all envision, as the standards for what is acceptable and what is no longer tolerable evolve … USC must grapple with these issues as well, but we should do so in a way that all universities should — with an examination of the facts, with thoughtful reflection and with rigorous debate. And, most importantly, with a commitment to fundamental values — we stand against hate and racism; we stand for inclusion, respect and the appreciation of differences.”
Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD)
- PRESIDENT: Ronald J. Daniels [email: president@jhu.edu]
  - (Bio) Ronald J. Daniels has served as the 14th president of Johns Hopkins University since 2009. Under his leadership, Johns Hopkins continues its preeminence in education, patient care, and innovative discovery, and has received more competitively allocated federal research funding than any other university in the country for more than 38 years.
  - During his tenure, Daniels has focused his efforts on several key areas: strengthening inter-disciplinary collaboration in research and education, enhancing student access, deepening engagement with the city of Baltimore, and supporting economic and social innovation. These priorities are embedded in the university’s first comprehensive strategic planning document—the Ten by Twenty—and in the $6 billion Rising to the Challenge campaign, which concluded in 2018.
University of CA (Berkeley, CA)
- CHANCELLOR: Carol Christ [email: chancellor@berkeley.edu]
  - (Bio) Carol Christ began her term as the 11th chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley on July 1, 2017. A celebrated scholar of Victorian literature, Christ is also well known as an advocate for quality, accessible public higher education, a proponent of the value of a broad education in the liberal arts and sciences, and a champion of women’s issues and diversity on college campuses.
  - (message) UC Berkeley leaders: Chauvin verdict delivers ‘a measure of justice’: “Today, a jury in Minneapolis delivered a measure of justice with its conviction of Derek Chauvin on three separate charges: second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Yet, these verdicts cannot return George Floyd to his loved ones or even begin to mend the grievous wounds caused by racism and anti-Blackness in our country. As we awaited the verdicts, many of us contemplated the true meaning of justice as we continue to deal with the continuing horror and outrage arising from the stunning number of our fellow citizens, particularly people of color, who are killed by police. According to the New York Times, during the course of testimony at the trial — a mere three weeks — at least 64 people died at the hands of law enforcement. More than half of them were Black or Latinx. This cannot stand.
  - We are well past the point where we need reminders of, or any sort of wake-up call about the urgent need to confront and eliminate systemic racism in all of its ugly, destructive forms. We understand why so many of us are, in the words of civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer, “sick and tired of being sick and tired.” Those, of course, were the words she used to describe the struggle of Black people in Mississippi for justice and freedom. Those were the words she used after she was viciously beaten in a jailhouse. Those were the words she spoke in 1963. And yet, here we are in 2021 confronting the very same bias, discrimination and anti-Blackness.
  - While all of us who long and work for a just, equitable and truly inclusive society are profoundly impacted by what has been unfolding in and around Minneapolis and across the country, we are particularly concerned about the toll taken among our Black friends, colleagues and fellow citizens. The testimony in the Chauvin trial triggered new waves of racial or race-based traumatic stress, made worse by continuing acts of violence and hostility against members of the Black community. Today, 12 jurors made it clear that Black lives do matter, yet there can be no doubt that still, for too many, too often, they do no.
  - At times like this, our individual and institutional actions must demonstrate our commitment to justice and its equitable application on our campus and across our country. We are wholly committed to continuing our work to create an anti-racist university where everyone feels a true sense of belonging, and a complete absence of bias and discrimination. We need, and must settle for nothing less than a complete and comprehensive elimination of racism and anti-Blackness. There is great power and potential in our collective efforts and all that we embody, model and embrace as a campus community.
  - Beyond Berkeley, our university plays a unique role in generating and disseminating new knowledge to the world across the full range of academic disciplines. We will continue to engage with our faculty experts in order to explore how we can best marshal the full force of Berkeley’s research to provide and advocate for concrete proposals that will lead to meaningful, lasting change across the full spectrum of campus, local, state and federal governments; law enforcement agencies; and systems of primary, secondary and higher education. In addition, we are scheduling Berkeley Conversations that will provide an interactive forum for a discussion of these very issues and ideas…“