PRESIDENT ROBINSON TO LEAD THE SMITHSONIAN'South ARTHUR Chiliad. SACKLER GALLERY AND FREER GALLERY OF Art

August 21, 2018

"I will leave The Graduate Center with pride in its standing and confidence in its hereafter."

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"I will go out The Graduate Center with pride in its standing and confidence in its futurity."

Dear Colleagues:

Former President crobinson_170

Every bit you bask the concluding days of summertime and complete your preparations for the autumn semester, I desire to share important news.

After a decade of service to The Graduate Center and The City Academy of New York, I volition be stepping down equally president. In December, I will take up the position of Dame Jillian Sackler Manager of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and Freer Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian Institution'due south ii museums of Asian art in Washington, D.C. David J. Skorton, secretary of the Smithsonian Establishment, made the announcement today.

I will leave The Graduate Center with pride in its standing and confidence in its hereafter. The Graduate Heart holds a unique position in public higher education. At a time of increased income inequality, political polarization, and a precipitous decline in political and cultural discourse, the research and teaching of our students and faculty have never been more important. Information technology has been a personal and professional honor to lead our collective delivery to advancing research for the public expert.

My time at The Graduate Middle has been securely gratifying. Together, nosotros have recruited dozens of world-class kinesthesia; enhanced traditional strengths in the humanities and built new ones in the experimental and theoretical sciences; established a national reputation in interdisciplinarity, digital pedagogy, and research, including the study of socio-economic inequality; increased the diversity of our faculty ranks and student body; admitted and enrolled students of unprecedented quality; doubled our main's offerings and master'due south enrollment; and strengthened our Foundation Board. While I take tremendous pride in these accomplishments, they are a product of the collective efforts of my very talented colleagues.

Provost and Senior Vice President Joy Connolly, former Interim Provost Louise Lennihan, our deans and executive officers, both by and present—they all exemplify the very best of public education. Members of The Graduate Center Foundation, led by Peter Darrow, take been generous in sharing their time, talents, and communication. And my senior staff members, along with the members of the cabinet, have served our community with keen distinction.

Of form, it's non administrators who are at the heart of The Graduate Center. It'southward faculty, staff, and students, whose talents and energies animate our offices, classrooms, labs, and public spaces, and in whose accomplishments we are all fortunate to share. To them all, I am immensely grateful.

CUNY Interim Chancellor Vita Rabinowitz will soon denote the appointment of an interim president. In due course, a national search for the 6th president of The Graduate Eye will commence. To ensure a smoothen and productive transition, I volition continue to serve as president through the fall term.

The Freer|Sackler exists "to heighten understanding and appreciation across cultures." My conclusion to go out The Graduate Center was eased by the close analogousness between this mission and the principles that I have been able to champion hither. My work at the Smithsonian will go on the work that I started in this remarkable customs of scholars and students. I am grateful for the support of the CUNY Board of Trustees, which is so ably led by Chairperson William Thompson and Vice Chairperson Barry Schwartz, and to Interim Chancellor Rabinowitz for her commitment to the values of CUNY.

Thank you for making my time at the GC such a privilege.

Kind regards,

President's signature

Chase F. Robinson
President

Media Coverage:

  • New Director Is Named for the Freer and Sackler Galleries
    (The New York Times)
  • CUNY grad schoolhouse president to lead Smithsonian's Freer/Sackler
    (The Washington Post)
  • Hunt F. Robinson to Atomic number 82 Smithsonian'southward Freer and Sackler Galleries
    (ArtForum)
  • Chase F. Robinson Named Director of Smithsonian's Freer and Sackler Galleries
    (ArtNews)
  • CUNY grad school president to lead Smithsonian's Freer/Sackler
    (SFGATE)
  • Chase F. Robinson Named Manager of Smithsonian's Freer and Sackler Galleries
    (WebWire)
  • CUNY grad school president to pb Smithsonian'southward Freer/Sackler
    (The Telegraph)
  • Chase F. Robinson named director of Smithsonian's Freer and Sackler galleries
    (Art News Daily)
  • Art Manufacture News (Daily Digest) - "Chase F. Robinson Will Caput the Smithsonian'due south Freer Sackler Galleries"
    (artnet News)
  • People in the News (08/26/18) - "The Smithsonian Establishment has announced the engagement of art historian CHASE F. ROBINSON as the Dame Jillian Sackler Director of the Arthur Yard. Sackler Gallery and Freer Gallery of Fine art, succeeding JULIAN RABY, who retired in December 2017."
    Philanthropy News Assimilate

Accomplishments Under President Robinson'southward Tenure

I volition leave The Graduate Eye with pride in its continuing and confidence in its future. My time at The Graduate Centre has been gratifying, not merely considering we accept accomplished then much, but because our accomplishments have been collective.

Together, we have:

  • Recruited dozens of globe-course facultyfrom many of the earth'southward most distinguished public and private colleges and universities, including our outset Nobel Laureate.
  • Enhanced long-standing strengths in the humanities past attracting The Graduate Center's largest-ever foundation grants in back up of the arts and humanities.
  • Established new strengths in the sciences past launching theInitiative for the Theoretical Sciences, leading theAdvanced Science Research Center, and hiring leading scientists and researchers, who are at present attracting record levels of sponsored research.
  • Made The Graduate Center a national leader in innovative pedagogy, and digital teaching and learning, by establishing theFutures Initiativeand the constellation of labs, centers, programs, and degrees that plantGC Digital Initiatives.
  • Established The Graduate Center as a hub of interdisciplinary research and scholarship by creating theAdvanced Research Collaborative, which has supported over 100 faculty fellows, and theInstitute for Language Education in Transcultural Context.
  • Launched a major initiative in the written report of socio-economic inequality by recruiting leading faculty and establishing theStone Centre on Socio-Economic Inequality, funded by The Graduate Middle'due south largest ever gift for an bookish centre.
  • Made major strides in diversifying educatee and faculty populations, increasing the proportion of total-fourth dimension faculty and enrolling students from underrepresented groups, and establishing the position ofPresidential Counselor on Diversity and Inclusion.
  • Enhanced fiscal aid back up for our students to increase access and opportunity and foster student travel and research.
  • Recruited students of unprecedented quality, witnessing a reduction in the admission rate for Ph.D. programs from 36% to 18%while increasing our yield and diverseness.
  • Enhanced doctoral training by establishing theOffice of Career Planning and Professional person Evolution, theTeaching and Learning Center, a variety of early inquiry opportunities, and improving student services, including parental policy and disabilities support services.
  • Expanded our portfolio of master'due south programs, doubling the number of degrees and enrollment.
  • Strengthened The Graduate Middle Foundation Board by adding 10 new trustees.
  • Created local and international partnerships with the likes of the New-York Historical Order, the Morgan Library, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Civilisation, the New York Botanical Garden, the Vera Establish of Justice, the University of Vienna, the University of Ibadan, and the American University of Beirut.
  • Enhanced public programming, curating several major series in public affairs and the arts, and drawing tens of thousands of guests to The Graduate Centre.