LIU names first woman president in 87-year history

March 7, 2013 Long Island University

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Long Island University, whose Brooklyn Campus is on Flatbush Avenue Extension in Downtown Brooklyn, has announced that Kimberly R. Cline will be the institution’s 10th president.

Dr. Cline, who currently serves as president of Mercy College, will succeed David J. Steinberg, who will retire this summer after 27 years as LIU’s chief executive. When Cline assumes the presidency in July, she will be the first woman to hold the office in the University’s 87-year history.

Dr. Cline was identified through a six-month, nationwide search with assistance from a leading academic search firm, Witt/Kieffer. All faculty, staff, students and alumni were invited to participate in the process through open forums. LIU’s Search Committee was comprised of trustees, faculty, staff and student leaders from across the university.

“Our students face great challenges in the current economy, and the new president is tasked with creating programs to help them persist in their studies and to prepare them for good jobs in the real world,” says LIU trustee Eric Krasnoff, who chaired the Search Committee. “Dr. Cline’s collaborative style, business acumen and sensitivity to student financial concerns make her the perfect person for the job.”

University offers nearly 500 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degree programs and certificates, and educates over 24,000 students in Brooklyn, Brookville (LIU Post), Brentwood, Riverhead, and Rockland and Westchester (LIU Hudson).

“There is no institution quite like LIU,” says Dr. Cline. “There are great strengths and opportunities in the diversity of its campuses, students and academic programs. I look forward to capitalizing on the synergies between its urban and suburban campuses to increase the university-wide value proposition for the students, faculty and communities LIU serves.”

Her priorities for LIU include introducing strategic enrollment and retention models; increasing collaboration between the administration and faculty; building financial resources; raising its national profile; and leveraging the university’s prime locations to build strategic partnerships with industry and research institutions in the New York metropolitan area and beyond.

Prior to assuming the presidency at Mercy, Dr. Cline served as vice chancellor and chief financial officer of the State University of New York. In this role, she was responsible for all of the system’s financial and administrative functions and oversaw SUNY’s $10 billion budget, which supports 64 campuses throughout the state.

She first joined the SUNY system as vice president, chief operating officer and chief of staff at SUNY at Maritime College, where she was instrumental in doubling enrollment and balancing a 20 percent deficit-spending budget.
Dr. Cline earned a B.S. in industrial relations at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and went on to complete a Master of Business Administration, a Juris Doctor and a Doctor of Educational Administration at Hofstra University. She and her husband, Peter Fishbein, reside in Garden City, N.Y. The couple has three children.