The New Jersey City University Board of Trustees has named Dr. Sue Henderson, a mathematician and educator, the twelfth president of New Jersey City University. Dr. Henderson will be the first woman to hold the presidential title at NJCU.

Dr. Henderson will succeed Dr. Carlos Hernández, an environmental psychologist with extensive public service experience, who has led NJCU for the past 19 years.

The announcement was made at a special meeting of the Board of Trustees this evening. The new president was selected following a national search. Dr. Henderson took office on Monday, August 6, 2012.

Rafael Perez, chair of the Board of Trustees, in announcing the new president, said that the Board is pleased the rigorous presidential search “has resulted in the selection of such an outstanding, talented candidate who is fully committed to the mission of NJCU and to ensuring a bright future for this University.”

Dr. Henry Coleman, vice chair of the Board of Trustees, chaired the Presidential Search Committee, which began its work in January 2012. The 14-member search committee was comprised of members of the Board of Trustees and the NJCU Foundation Board of Directors, faculty, administrators, staff, students, and alumni. Dr. Coleman commented, ”Dr. Henderson was selected from a group of very distinguished candidates. Her clear understanding of the complexities and demands of higher education and her many professional achievements as an academician and as an executive leader made her an ideal choice for this critical position at NJCU.”

NJCU’s president designate has served Queens College as both chief operating officer and vice president of institutional advancement since 2011, having served as vice president of institutional advancement since 2005.

Upon learning of her appointment as NJCU president, Dr. Henderson commented, “I’m honored to have the opportunity to lead this exciting, dynamic University, and I look forward to joining the NJCU community and becoming a part of this wonderfully diverse city and metropolitan area. “NJCU has a proud tradition of academic excellence and access. As president, I will strive to continue that fine tradition, and to encourage innovation, intellectual commitment, and service to the community,” she added.

President Hernández praised the work of the Presidential Search Committee and wished his successor well, noting that he is “confident that Dr. Henderson will bring great success to the institution and to the lives of the many people it touches.”

In her role as chief operating officer at Queens College, Dr. Henderson has recently guided a number of critical initiatives, including the implementation of long-range strategic planning, and community-focused and entrepreneurial programs and activities. She has worked to bring greater diversity in faculty and staff hiring; overseen facilities and construction work, implemented a zero-based budgeting initiative, and advanced the internationalization of the institution’s curriculum through enhanced opportunities for education abroad and special events exploring in depth the history and cultural contributions of featured nations.

As vice president of institutional advancement, Dr. Henderson promoted Queens College within the campus community and cultivated support from public, private, and corporate sources. She oversaw 12 units, including alumni relations, athletics, communications, development, special events, government affairs, entrepreneurial activities, converging technologies, professional and continuing studies, study abroad, and the Godwin-Ternbach Museum, the Kupfberger Center for the Arts, the Louis Armstrong House Museum, the Center for Jewish Studies, and the Women and Work Program.

In 2007, the Queens Chamber of Commerce named Dr. Henderson one of the top ten businesswomen in Queens. Dr. Henderson was initially appointed at the CUNY liberal arts college in 2002 as executive assistant to the president.

Previously, she held the position of interim provost and provost of the College’s Lawrenceville campus at Georgia Perimeter College (GPC).

She served GPC in various capacities from 1998-2002: as chair of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, interim academic dean, interim chair of the North Campus Department of Business, and associate professor of mathematics.

Her prior academic employment includes service as an assistant professor and, initially, as an instructor of mathematics at DeKalb College in Decatur, Georgia.

Dr. Henderson began her teaching career as a mathematics teacher at the secondary level. She is a frequent speaker at national conferences and professional meetings on the subject of strategic planning and its effective implementation. Dr. Henderson holds a Ph.D. in higher education from the University of Georgia and both master’s and bachelor’s degrees in mathematics education from Georgia State University.

You'll find more North Jersey area education news and information on mybergen.com.