Nancy Aries, PhD, Named Interim Dean of the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs

July 7, 2021

Dear Colleagues,

As my first official communication as Baruch’s Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, I am pleased to announce that Nancy Aries, PhD, longtime faculty member and administrator at Baruch College and The City University of New York, has been appointed Interim Dean of the Austin W. Marxe School of Public and International Affairs.

A Marxe professor and member of the Baruch faculty since September 1981, Dr. Aries accepted this one-year appointment, through June 2022, following the announcement last month of the retirement of former Marxe Dean David Birdsell, who has accepted the position of provost and vice president of academic affairs at Kean University. A national search for a permanent Marxe Dean will begin shortly.

Four Decades of Excellence, Insight, and Experience

Interim Dean Aries brings a wealth of academic, scholarly, and administrative experience to this position. She was CUNY’s interim university dean for undergraduate education and the Marxe School’s executive director of academic programs and director of the Higher Education Program. She was also chair of the Zicklin School of Business’s then Department of Health Care Administration and director of its Graduate Programs in Health Care Administration. As director of the Baruch Honors Program, she organized Creative Inquiry Day, Baruch’s annual celebration of student research and creative endeavors.

Dr. Aries’s scholarship sits at the intersection of public policy formation and implementation effectiveness. Her work on the economic impact of biomedical research resulted in appointment to the Mayor’s Task Force on Biomedical Research. She has also studied women’s reproductive health policies and programs and healthcare workforce diversity. Her CV offers an in-depth picture of her varied accomplishments, including publications, fellowships and grants, and government and nonprofit service.

Her honors include Baruch Presidential Awards for Distinguished Service and Distinguished Teaching, the Honors Student Teaching Award, and recognition from City & State as one of 2021’s “50 Over 50 Most Distinguished Public Servants.” She holds a BA in urban studies from the University of Michigan and a PhD in social policy from the Heller School at Brandeis University.

Moving Baruch Forward in 2021–22 and Beyond

President S. David Wu and I, as well as Baruch’s entire leadership team, look forward to working with Interim Dean Aries. I am especially impressed by Nancy’s collaborative mindset and approach; many successes in interdisciplinary, cross-school, cross-college, and cross-university endeavors; and deep institutional knowledge and insight. Together, we will embrace and advance the mission of the Marxe School and Baruch College as an engine of academic excellence, access, and student social mobility.

Please join me in congratulating Nancy Aries on her new role.

Sincerely,

Linda Essig
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs