Linda Mills named NYU’s first female president

New York University has chosen Linda Mills – a campus administrator, expert in domestic violence and film director – as its first female president, making it the latest in a line of prominent US institutions to appoint women leaders following a string of leadership departures.

Dr Mills, a professor of social work, public policy and law, and the vice-chancellor and senior vice-provost for global programs and university life, will replace Andrew Hamilton, who plans to step down as president at the end of June after eight years of leading NYU.

The new NYU president brings a mix of human concern and data-driven thinking to her decision-making, said William Berkley, a billionaire insurance industry executive who chairs NYU’s Board of Trustees, after the board’s vote to hire her.

“As board chair and an alumnus, I take great pride in NYU and how far it has come since my student days; nevertheless, there is still much work to do,” Mr Berkley said in an announcement of the decision. “My colleagues on the board and I have complete confidence that Linda is just the right person to continue to carry on NYU’s academic trajectory.”

With the choice, NYU joins Harvard, Columbia and Georgetown universities, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of Pennsylvania on a growing list of institutions picking female presidents.

“This is a tremendous honor,” Dr Mills said in the announcement of her selection. “One of the wonderful things about NYU is that, even after dedicating 24 years of my life to this extraordinary university, there is always more to discover.”

Dr Mills’ scholarly work has focused on trauma, bias and domestic violence. She also heads the NYU Production Lab and has directed and produced documentary films that include Of Many, a project with former first daughter Chelsea Clinton that details the friendship between NYU chaplains Khalid Latif, a Muslim imam, and Yehuda Sarna, a Jewish rabbi.

Dr Mills has earned degrees from the University of California at Irvine, the University of California College of the Law in San Francisco, San Francisco State University and Brandeis University. Her husband, Peter Goodrich, is a professor of law at Yeshiva University and a visiting professor of law at NYU Abu Dhabi.

paul.basken@timeshighereducation.com