Joining You as Interim Provost

February 4, 2021

Dear Faculty and Staff,

I hope your Spring 2021 semester has gotten off to a strong start and that you had the opportunity to enjoy the holidays.

This is my first message to you as Baruch College’s new interim provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. I am honored to have been selected to fill this important role. Like all of you, I thank James McCarthy for his leadership during these unprecedented times and wish him good health and every happiness. Jim’s a tough act to follow.

I would also like to thank President S. David Wu for the confidence he has placed in me. I would not even have considered accepting this position were it not for my deep connection to Baruch College—knowledge of its schools, departments, and processes—and most especially my longtime relationships with scores of you, Baruch’s dedicated faculty and staff, many of whom have been my colleagues for decades.

My Background

For those of you who may not know me, let me share a bit of my background and varied experiences at Baruch. I joined the faculty of the Zicklin School of Business’s Allen G. Aaronson Department of Marketing and International Business in 1990; my scholarship focuses on consumer information research. Over the years, I have served as chair of the Aaronson Department and associate dean for academic affairs and interim dean of the Zicklin School. I had the incredible opportunity to serve as vice provost for global strategies for three years as well.

Baruch Forward: Spring 2021

I understand and appreciate the challenges that you have experienced since our necessary pivot ten months ago to the remote environment. Despite the difficulties, you have done your best to adapt and carry on, demonstrating an unflagging dedication to our mission of providing higher education of the highest caliber to students from underserved communities and those with limited economic resources. Thank you!

And though our historic transition has not been without challenges, we have learned so much from going fully virtual. In the coming months, we will analyze how we can optimize these lessons to help us prepare for potential hybrid and online environments in addition to traditional in-person classes starting in the Fall 2021 semester. No doubt, these insights will be invaluable to our new permanent provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, who will join Baruch on July 1.

Staying Connected

There are still many unknowns. What I do know is that we will get through this together.

Throughout the coming months, I plan to stay in communication with you, and I expect to see and collaborate with many of you online and on Zoom. And, of course, please feel free to reach out to me at Myung-Soo.Lee@baruch.cuny.edu.

I hope you have a productive and rewarding semester.

Sincerely,

Myung-Soo Lee, PhD
Interim Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs