On Feb. 15, the New York University Board of Trustees announced that Linda G. Mills, NYU's Vice Chancellor and Senior Vice President for Global Programs and University Life, would succeed Andrew Hamilton as the 17th president of NYU. She will take on her responsibilities as president on July 1, 2023.

In a letter to the community from William Berkley, Chair of the NYU Board of Trustees and of the Presidential Search Committee and Evan Chesler, Chair-Designate of the NYU Board of Trustees and Vice-Chair of the Presidential Search Committee, Dr. Mills is introduced as a candidate of considerable commitment to the University’s core values with extensive knowledge of the University and immense dedication to flexibility, diversity, and inclusion. “In an era of rapid change in higher education and a competitive environment in which NYU starts with considerably fewer economic advantages than many of its peers, Linda brings a bold vision for our future that no other candidate could match,” the letter reads.

Upon assuming her duties as President-Designate, the Lisa Ellen Goldberg Professor of Social Work, Public Policy, and Law stresses NYU’s core values of democratic approaches, metropolitanism, enterprise, and practicality. She further acknowledges the many traumas and challenges brought about by a rapidly changing world; in the face of inequalities, discrimination, hate crimes, wars, and natural disasters, including the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, she emphasizes the importance of community, shared purposes, and the feeling of being seen and heard. “I’m approaching these new challenges as I do my scholarly work — with curiosity, rigor, and the ability to listen,” reads her letter to the community.

Moreover, in the hopes to start a university-wide conversation, Dr. Mills asks these three essential questions to the community: “How might we continue to strengthen and advance NYU’s academic trajectory? How might we create and sustain a fully inclusive community where everyone can thrive? How might we maximize our potential to change society for the better?” She invites the entire NYU community to reply to these questions or pose others via this link.

Dr. Mariët Westermann, NYU Abu Dhabi’s Vice Chancellor, congratulates Dr. Mills on her designation, citing Dr. Mills’ critical role in the establishment of NYUAD in developing the satellite campus’ innovative admissions process, structuring its student affairs and campus life programs, and bringing The Reality Show at NYU to Abu Dhabi as The Real AD Show.

In the near future, Dr. Mills will visit various academic and administrative units around the university, and learn more from the 2024 NYU Self-Study program to support the re-accreditation with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

Before her designation as the president of NYU, Dr. Mills has held various positions in the university, such as Senior Vice Provost for Undergraduates in the Global Network University at NYU and Associate Vice Chancellor for Admissions and Financial Support at NYUAD, among many others, besides her current position as the Vice Chancellor and Senior Vice Provost for Global Programs & University Life.

Dr. Mills’ principal areas of scholarly focus are trauma, bias, and domestic violence; funded by organizations such as the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Justice, and the Department of Health and Human Services, she has been a principal investigator of timely research. She has also published widely, her most prominent works including Violent Partners: A Breakthrough Plan for Ending the Cycle of Abuse (2008), Insult to Injury Rethinking Our Responses to Intimate Abuse (2003), and A Penchant for Prejudice Unraveling Bias in Judicial Decision-Making (1999), among other academic publications. She has also left a distinct mark on the film industry, directing works such as The Rest of Us (2021) and Of Many: Then and Now (2017). She has been described as an “artist, author, activist, therapist, and academic” on the webpage for Of Many.