NYU Abu Dhabi announced that Mariet Westermann will serve as Vice Chancellor of the school following a 10-month global search.
As Vice Chancellor, Westermann will serve as the highest-ranking administrator at NYUAD and oversee all academic, administrative and operational affairs on campus. Westermann will also work closely with students, faculty and staff. Vice Chancellor is also one of the highest compensated positions at NYUAD. In 2017, the Vice Chancellor had a reported salary of $1,102,880, which also included benefits.
Al Bloom, who previously served as NYUAD Vice Chancellor, was appointed in 2008. In March 2018, Bloom announced he would step down the following year in August. Once Bloom announced he would step down, the university formed a committee to choose his successor. The committee was led by Philosophy Professor Dick Foley and English Professor Una Chaudhuri.
In a press release, Westermann said she was honored to be appointed Vice Chancellor.
“In a brief nine years, NYU Abu Dhabi has become a unique, flourishing institution of higher education [w]ith a truly diverse and engaged student community, an outstanding and dedicated faculty, an innovative undergraduate curriculum and an ambitious research agenda,” Westermann said. “At a time when international engagement is vital to the future of our planet, NYU Abu Dhabi is a beacon situated in a dynamic city and a historic crossroads.”
Before joining NYUAD, Westermann was an executive vice president for programs and research from 2010 to 2016 at The Andrew M. Mellon Foundation, which is the organization led by 2019 commencement speaker Elizabeth Alexander. Westermann also served on NYU’s faculty as director of the Institute of Fine Arts and was the first provost of NYUAD in 2008. In this role, Westermann hired the school’s initial faculty, developed the curriculum and launched the NYUAD Institute, which hosts talks, conferences, workshops, lectures and films. Westermann also received her masters and doctorate degrees from NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts.
NYU President Andrew Hamilton said Westermann met all the requirements the university was looking for in a Vice Chancellor.
“[In] choosing a new Vice Chancellor, we sought someone who [would] also contribute to NYU’s leadership globally and be a real presence in the cultural and intellectual life of Abu Dhabi,” Hamilton said. “With her proven leadership qualities, her experience and involvement in the founding of NYUAD, her superb academic qualifications, her skill as an institution-builder, in Mariet Westermann we found just such a person.”
Westermann’s term as Vice Chancellor will begin in August.
A version of this article appeared in the Monday, April 29, 2019, print edition. Email Meghna Maharishi at [email protected].
