Queens College President Named CUNY Chancellor

NEW YORK - Queens College president Félix V. Matos Rodríguez will be CUNY's next chancellor, making him the first Latino to lead the university. Matos Rodríguez has been president of Queens College, part of the CUNY system, since 2014.

The City University of New York's board of trustees voted unanimously on Wednesday to appoint Matos Rodríguez as the university's eighth chancellor, beginning May 1.

"For me, this appointment is particularly special because CUNY is home,” Matos Rodríguez said in a statement. "I am immensely proud to have risen through the University’s ranks and am deeply honored to now have the opportunity to lead an institution I love and treasure. I will strive every day that I am Chancellor to fulfill the promise of our noble mission to afford academic excellence and economic opportunity to all.”"

As Queens College president, Matos Rodríguez developed an accelerated B.A./M.A. program and spurred the college's first systematic review of all graduate programs. He also pushed to increase diversity — about half of new faculty came from underrepresented groups.

He previously served as president of CUNY's Eugenio María de Hostos Community College, which saw a double-digit increase in its retention rate under his leadership from 2009 to 2014. During that time, the school’s graduation rate increased from 22 percent to 28 percent.

"In word and deed, Chancellor-designate Matos Rodríguez embodies CUNY’s mission-driven spirit," William C. Thompson Jr., chair of the CUNY board of trustees, said. "His sterling credentials, his unparalleled depth of perspective and his demonstrated commitment to CUNY made him the inarguable standout and the obvious choice."

Matos Rodríguez, a Puerto Rico native, has a bachelor's degree from Yale University and a doctorate in history from Columbia University. From 2006 to 2008, he served as secretary of the Department of Family Services in Puerto Rico, where he managed a $2.3 billion budget and oversaw nearly 11,000 employees.

Matos Rodríguez is an expert on the history of women in the Caribbean and author of the book "Women and Urban Life in Nineteenth-Century San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1820–1862." He previously directed the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College (El Centro) and taught at Northeastern University, Boston College and the Universidad Interamericana-Recinto Metropolitano, Puerto Rico.

(Lead image: CUNY)