The City University of New York (CUNY) Board of Trustees has appointed former New York City Schools Chancellor, Dr. Rudolph F. Crew, as the new president of the predominantly Black Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn.
Medgar Evers College said in a statement that CUNY Chancellor Matthew Goldstein made the recommendation at a Board of Trustees meeting.
Crew’s appointment came after a national search that generated over 50 applicants.
Medgar Evers College said Crew’s appointment becomes effective on Aug. 1. He is the current Oregon Chief Education Officer.
“Dr. Rudy Crew brings to Medgar Evers College an exemplary record of academic, administrative and governmental accomplishment, combined with classroom experience and a strong commitment to students,” said Board of Trustees Chairperson Benno Schmidt, Jr. and Chancellor Goldstein in a joint statement.
“We are confident that, with his leadership, Medgar Evers College will achieve new levels of excellence for its dedicated students and faculty and strengthen its role with the community,” they added, noting that the college was established in 1970 to honor the memory and ideals of the slain civil rights martyr.
Schmidt and Goldstein said it is “highly appropriate” that the college will be “uplifted by a leader who is deeply committed to academic quality, equal access, and student success.”
President-Designate Crew thanked Goldstein, Schmidt, trustees Valerie Lancaster Beal and Philip Berry, and the search committee for “their confidence in me.”
“I welcome the opportunity to lead Medgar Evers College and embrace the community, students, faculty, alumni and numerous partners who are invested in this historical institution,” he said.
“I believe in the lives of the students, and will invest my time, love and energy to make sure they get out of it what I have gotten from everyone in New York City over the course of many years,” he added.
The statement said that the presidency of Medgar Evers College attracted a pool of more than 50 candidates, about the same number who applied for The City College presidency two years ago.
He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the NAACP Educational Leadership Award, the Arthur Ashe Leadership Award, and the National Superintendent of the Year from the American Association of School Administrators in 2008.
A senior college within The City University of New York, Medgar Evers College was established in 1970 with a mandate to meet the educational and social needs of the Central Brooklyn community.
