Adelphi President to Receive CASE Chief Executive Leadership Award
Garden City, NY (04/14/2021) — Christine M. Riordan, PhD, president of Adelphi University, will receive the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) District II Chief Executive Leadership Award at a ceremony on Thursday, April 15. Citing her leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic--both at Adelphi and across our region as a guiding voice in New York state's higher education restart plan-the recognition notes Dr. Riordan's "outstanding efforts in promoting the understanding and support of education."
CASE is an international educational organization; District II includes New York, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, West Virginia, and Ontario, Canada. There was a 26 percent increase in nominations for the awards this year.
The Chief Executive Leadership Award recognizes exceptional leadership and accomplishments and their impact on the institution.
"President Riordan has been an articulate, impassioned representative of New York's private college students, willing to dedicate a considerable amount of her time, energy, and expertise to promoting the collective good," said Mary Beth Labate, who recently stepped down as president of the New York's Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities (CICU). "Leading a higher education institution of the size and scope of Adelphi University would be enough for even the most accomplished president, yet when called upon, President Riordan embraced the added responsibility of serving as chair of the CICU Board of Trustees."
As CICU trustee chair, Dr. Riordan last May convened a statewide public and private university and college Reopening Task Force to help establish best practices for higher education in the face of COVID-19. "The plan was presented to New York State policymakers and formed the basis for the state's reopening guidance for colleges," Labate noted. "Importantly, it was the template that colleges across the state used to form their own reopening plans."
Dr. Riordan's academic and higher education leadership career has included serving as provost of the University of Kentucky and dean of the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver before being named Adelphi's 10th president in 2015.
The first woman to serve as Adelphi's president, Dr. Riordan has led the University to enrollment growth and the University's most diverse classes in its history. Alumni giving reached an all-time high and Adelphi has been named to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll and has earned the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification.
In addition to chairing CICU, Dr. Riordan is secretary-treasurer of the Long Island Regional Advisory Council on Higher Education. She consults regularly with corporations on leadership development activities, diversity management and team performance, and serves on the board of directors of RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. Dr. Riordan has published more than 60 academic and business press articles, and is completing her book Shift Happens: How to Adapt and Thrive in a Rapidly Changing World of Work. She is a frequent speaker on leadership and career success and her TEDx talk, "Dare to Be Extraordinary," has received more than 26,000 views. She has been interviewed by and written articles for media such as The Financial Times, the Harvard Business Review, Forbes and HuffPost.
President Riordan also was recently named to City and State NY's Higher Education Power 100 list that will be issued in April.
About Adelphi: A modern metropolitan university with a personalized approach to higher learning
Adelphi University, New York, is a highly awarded, nationally ranked, powerfully connected doctoral research university dedicated to transforming students' lives through small classes with world-class faculty, hands-on learning and innovative ways to support academic and career success. Adelphi offers exceptional liberal arts and sciences programs and professional training, with particular strength in our Core Four-Arts and Humanities, STEM and Social Sciences, the Business and Education Professions, and Health and Wellness.
Recognized as a Best College by U.S. News & World Report, Adelphi is Long Island's oldest private coeducational university. It serves almost 8,000 students at its beautiful main campus in Garden City, New York-just 23 miles from New York City's cultural and internship opportunities-and at dynamic learning hubs in Manhattan, the Hudson Valley and Suffolk County, as well as online.
More than 116,000 Adelphi graduates have gained the skills to thrive professionally as active, engaged citizens, making their mark on the University, their communities and the world.
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Christine M. Riordan, PhD, president of Adelphi University, will receive the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) District II Chief Executive Leadership Award at a ceremony on Thursday, April 15.