The board of trustees of The City University of New York voted to appoint Robin L. Garrell as president of the university’s Graduate Center, effective August 1. Dr. Garrell, whose academic background is in biochemistry and engineering, will lead a center with over 3,500 students in 31 doctoral and 16 master’s programs. The Graduate Center is located in midtown Manhattan.
“I am honored to be chosen to serve as the next President of the CUNY Graduate Center, which is world-renowned for its exceptional scholarship and public-facing research,” Dr. Garrell said. “I am excited to lead a center that serves as a national model for graduate education in an urban setting, preparing diverse students to become leaders in innovation, public service and research who will shape the city, region and nation for years to come.”
For the past nine years, Dr. Garrell has served as vice provost of the Graduate Division at the University of California, Los Angeles. In addition to her administrative duties, Dr. Garrell joined the faculty at UCLA in 1999 and has been a professor of chemistry since 2003 and a professor of bioengineering since 2013. She previously taught at the University of Pittsburgh.
A native of Detroit, Dr. Garrell earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and a Ph.D. in macromolecular science and engineering from the University of Michigan.