ORIENTATION 2011: Amid a leadership shake-up, meet your Columbia, Barnard administrators

Lee Bollinger, University President

Bollinger is entering his tenth year as Columbia’s president, and has agreed to stay on through at least 2015. Known by many students as “PrezBo,” Bollinger has the final say on all administrative appointments and is the driving force behind the University’s globalization plans and the campus expansion in Manhattanville. Bollinger is also a noted freedom of the press and freedom of speech scholar, and he generally stays quiet on campus controversies. If you want to meet him, watch for an email about the fireside chats that Bollinger holds at his house on 116th Street and Morningside Avenue.

Michele Moody-Adams, Outgoing Columbia College Dean

After two years as the College’s first African-American and first female dean, Moody-Adams surprised the school with news of her sudden resignation two weeks ago. In an email to alumni, Moody-Adams said that coming changes to the University’s structure would “ultimately compromise the College’s academic quality and financial health.” In her email, she implied that Arts and Sciences would soon be taking over policy, fundraising, and budget responsibilities that she currently oversees independently, and said that her concerns about those changes had not been taken seriously. In a dramatic turn of events last week, Bollinger called on Moody-Adams to step down from her position effective immediately.

Nicholas Dirks, Executive Vice President of Arts and Sciences

Dirks, who is also the dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, oversees all things academic at A&S schools and departments, including Columbia College, the School of General Studies, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the School of the Arts, the School of International and Public Affairs, and the School of Continuing Education. Dirks, a history and anthropology professor, played a key role in planning and allocating space in the newly-opened Northwest Corner Building, and was involved in the central administration’s review of the University’s conflict of interest policy.

Robert Kasdin, Senior Executive Vice President

Kasdin is a longtime Bollinger associate, having come to Columbia with him in 2002 from the University of Michigan (where Bollinger was president and Kasdin was chief financial officer). Now second-in-command at Columbia, Kasdin runs the University’s finances and oversees the construction projects in Manhattanville and Inwood, where Columbia is building a new athletic center. You won’t hear much from Kasdin, except for the occasional update email on “the University’s Environmental Stewardship” bearing his name.

Debora Spar, Barnard President

Spar, who is entering her third year at Barnard’s helm, has worked to increase the college’s international reputation, holding symposia abroad and seeking out more international students. She’s also a scholar of international political and economic issues, and has written about topics ranging from the economics of the fertility industry to the rise of the Internet. In June, she was elected to the Board of Directors of the Goldman Sachs Group.

Feniosky Peña-Mora, Columbia Engineering Dean

In his two years as dean, the energetic Peña-Mora has worked to increase the engineering school’s stature, both among other engineering schools and within the liberal arts-centric Columbia. To do that, he’s instituted a “Rising Superstars” program to attract top faculty to the school, and is reshaping the school’s study abroad programs, among other initiatives. Peña-Mora previously served as associate provost at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Avis Hinkson, Barnard College Dean

Hinkson, BC ’84, became Barnard’s dean in February, replacing longtime dean Dorothy Denburg, who is now the vice president for college relations. Hinkson, who said in February that one of her first priorities would be evaluating how Barnard uses its library spaces, oversees the Dean of Studies, Admissions, Financial Aid, the Registrar, Residential Life and Housing, Student Life, and Health Services. Previously, she was the director of undergraduate advising at the University of California, Berkeley.

John Coatsworth, Interim Provost

Coatsworth was chosen by Bollinger in June to be the interim provost, following the unexpected resignation of Claude Steele, who left to become dean of Stanford’s School of Education. Coatsworth, who will also continue to serve as dean of the School of International and Public Affairs, is now the school’s top academic officer. That gives him purview over everything from the tenure review process to allocating academic space on campus.