Michele Angrist has been named Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Stephen J. and Diane K. Ciesinski Dean of the Faculty, Union College President David R. Harris announced today. She has been serving in that role on an interim basis for the past nine months.
Angrist, who also served as Dean of Studies prior to her interim appointment, was selected following a national search. She will serve as the College’s chief academic officer and a member of President Harris’ senior leadership team.
“Michele is a talented administrator and an outstanding colleague who has earned the respect of both our faculty and staff during her time as Dean of Studies and Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs,” Harris said. “Over the past several months, she has proven to be a valuable member of the senior leadership team and has been instrumental in helping the College move forward on a number of important priorities, even as we continue to face the challenges brought on by the pandemic.
“Michele rose to the top of an extremely competitive field of candidates, and I am excited she has agreed to remain in the role on a permanent basis.”
During her tenure as interim vice president, Angrist has worked tirelessly in support of a range of faculty efforts and has helped guide the launch of a comprehensive initiative designed to strengthen the College’s engineering and computer science offerings.
As part of this work, she is leading the search for the inaugural director of the Templeton Institute of Engineering & Computer Science and Dean of Engineering, which has been made possible by a $51 million gift from Union alumni Rich and Mary Templeton (both class of 1980). Angrist also has been actively involved in working with a broad range of donors in partnership with Union’s College Relations team.
“I am humbled and honored to have been asked to help lead this special college at a pivotal time,” Angrist said. “I am grateful for the partnership of faculty and staff colleagues during this transitional year, and I am excited to work together to advance our strategic priorities going forward.”
Angrist joined Union as a member of the Political Science department in 2000 after earning her doctoral degree in politics from Princeton, where she also earned her master’s degree in public affairs. Her research interests include Middle East politics and gender issues, regime change and regime types. As a member of the faculty, she served as chair of the Political Science department and contributed to the College in a number of service roles including on the Faculty Review Board and the Faculty Executive Committee. As Dean of Studies, she served as an ex-officio member of the Academic Affairs Council.
Angrist, the daughter of a U.S. Foreign Service officer, was born in Nigeria and grew up in a variety of locations around the world. She earned her bachelor’s degree in anthropology and international studies from Washington University in St. Louis. She and her husband, Ezra, live in Rexford with their two teenage sons, Jordan and Jesse, and their rescue husky-retriever, Lacy.