With more than 20 years of experience as an academic administrator at public colleges and a scholar in Latinx identity, Dr. Fernando Delgado was recently tabbed the new president of Lehman College.
Delgado, who previously was executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Minnesota Duluth, will begin his new role July 1. He will succeed Interim President Daniel Lemons, who has served in this role since July 2019.
“I am honored to be selected as the next president of Lehman College and fully embrace its mission of access and student success,” Delgado said. “As the child of immigrants and a first-generation college graduate, I relate very personally to the values of Lehman and CUNY, what they offer their students and the difference they make in their lives. I look forward to getting to campus and joining the faculty and staff of the college to build on these efforts even as we navigate turbulent waters. I thank Chancellor Matos Rodríguez and the CUNY Board of Trustees for this extraordinary opportunity.”
Delgado was a first-generation college student as an undergraduate at San José State University before earning his graduate degrees in communication studies from the University of Iowa. He began his academic career as a faculty member and then administrator at Arizona State University and later served as an academic dean at both Minnesota State University Mankato and Hamline University and as the senior academic officer at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.
The son of immigrants, his father from Mexico and his mother, of Spain, he has published his research in a variety of academic journals and books and has extensive experience with institutional accreditation, strategic planning, internationalization and budget management. He has been active with the American Council on Education (ACE), the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) and the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities.
“In Dr. Delgado, CUNY has found an accomplished educator with the experience and sense of mission necessary to lead a campus that has set high standards for access, inclusion and innovation,” said CUNY Board of Trustees Chair William C. Thompson Jr. “We are delighted to welcome him to CUNY at a time when we are all looking forward to the fresh start that will come with our planned return to campuses next fall.”
