I am pleased to announce that I will recommend the appointment of Kenichi (Ken) Iwama to the CUNY Board of Trustees to serve as CSI’s Vice President for Economic Development, Continuing Studies, and Government Relations, effective October 27, 2016. In the interim, as an administrator, some of Ken’s new duties will be effective September 1, 2016, including supervision of the offices within the division.
Ken has served as Deputy to the President and Chief of Staff with the College of Staten Island since 2010. In this role, on behalf of the President, he has supervised the Office of Continuing Education and Professional Development, Government Relations, the Office of Human Resources, CSI Athletics, the Office of Diversity and Compliance, and the Office of the President. Ken also supervised all of the College’s Economic Development initiatives during the current period of divisional transition. From 2009 to 2010, he served as the College’s Director of the Office of Diversity and Compliance.
From 1997 to 2009, Ken served in various senior executive positions with the state-operated School District of Jersey City, the second largest school district in New Jersey. As the first public school district in the nation to be taken over by the state, he was a member of the state-appointed team, serving in the cabinet-level positions of General Counsel, Chief Labor Counsel, and Assistant General Counsel. In these various leadership capacities, he was at the forefront of national discussions concerning urban educational improvement and was one of the primary architects of educational policy and procedure in all areas of program and instruction, personnel, fiscal management, operations and management, and governance.
Prior to serving in senior administrative positions for educational institutions, Ken practiced law in the State of New Jersey, concentrating in education law, and labor and employment law. He also served in judicial clerkships with the State of New Jersey Office of Administrative Law and the New Jersey Superior Court.
Ken has held positions in numerous professional organizations including the Editorial Board of the Journal of College and University Law, National Association of College and University Attorneys; the Committee on Legal Education, the National Association of Colleges and University Attorneys; Chair of the Administrative Law Section, New Jersey State Bar Association; and is a member of the Phi Beta Delta Honor Society for International Scholars. He has also presented at the New Jersey Institute of Continuing Legal Education and the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Ken is actively involved in community organizations including serving as a representative on the Staten Island Freshkills Park Alliance Board of the New York City Park System and is a founding member of the Staten Island Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD). He received his BA from the University of New Hampshire, an MA from Rutgers University School of Management and Labor Relations, and his Juris Doctor from Seton Hall Law School.
I want to thank Ken for the many years he has served as Chief of Staff and Deputy to the President. It is my intention to conduct a national search for his replacement during this academic year; however, Ken will continue to assume some of his current duties until the position is filled. I also want to thank the members of the search committee, chaired by Provost Gary Reichard, for their hard work in screening the applications from a very well qualified and diverse national pool.
Please join me in congratulating Ken.
