August 16, 2022
Dear colleagues:
We are pleased to announce several important leadership appointments.

Jeffrey A. Barnett, PhD, will join us as vice president for student affairs and dean for students. He most recently served as interim associate dean of students at Stony Brook University, where he has worked since 2000 in a variety of student affairs and enrollment and retention roles. He earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Stony Brook and a master’s degree in higher education administration from Teachers College at Columbia University. Last year, he completed his doctorate in social welfare at Stony Brook—with a dissertation focused on fostering belonging among low-income college students. We are excited by the new vision Jeff will bring to Student Affairs, as well as his skill and enthusiasm for connecting with students. He will start at Pace on September 1.

Nila Bhaumik will join us as vice president for human resources and chief human resources officer. She currently serves as executive director for human resources at Guttman Community College in the CUNY system, and before that spent close to two decades in human resources at CUNY’s LaGuardia Community College. Throughout the search process, we were all impressed not only by Nila’s tremendous experience and expertise in higher ed HR, but also with her compassion, empathy, and deep understanding of recruitment and retention challenges that our sector is facing. We are confident she will provide the leadership we need to help make Pace an even better place to work. She will start September 22.

Beth Gordon, PhD, a longtime and valued leader of our information technology group, has agreed to serve as interim vice president of Information Technology Services and chief information officer. An expert on educational technology who has published and presented on topics including blended and online learning, active teaching and learning, and classroom design, Beth has overseen significant portions of our technology operations and recently led the implementation both of our new learning management system and of Zoom. She has been working in this new role since August 1.

Finally, with Joe now serving as interim provost, Marcus Braga Alves, PhD, has agreed to serve as interim associate provost for academic affairs. Marcus is an associate professor of finance in the Lubin School of Business, and he holds a doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh and an MBA from Pace. He has taught on the undergraduate and graduate levels, and—especially important now—he has a longtime pedagogical interest in using technology to optimize students’ experiences and outcomes in online, on-campus, and hybrid settings. He has also served in faculty leadership roles within Lubin and on the New York Faculty Council. Marcus begins his work in the Provost’s Office on September 1. 

Thank you to the search committees for the student affairs and human resources roles for their work in identifying such excellent candidates. 

Please join us in congratulating Jeff, Nila, Beth, and Marcus. This is an exciting time at Pace, and we are happy to have these new leaders in place. We’re looking forward to working with all of you as we start the new academic year.
Sincerely,
Marvin Krislov
President
Joseph R. Franco, PhD
Interim Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

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