Elizabeth H. Bradley, PhD

Elizabeth H. Bradley, PhD, was inaugurated as Vassar’s 11th president on September 24, 2017. President Bradley is a noted public health expert who created the first Masters of Health Administration on the African continent with the Clinton Health Access Initiative and pioneered a model of innovation scale-up with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. She continues to be a strong advocate for education and public health, regularly publishing opinion pieces in Forbes, Bloomberg News, and other national outlets as well as peer-reviewed research, including more than 325 peer-reviewed papers. She has co-authored three books, including The American Healthcare Paradox: Why Spending More Is Getting Us Less. She also served on the New York governor’s COVID-19 advisory panel, New York Forward and is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and Council of Foreign Relations.

Efforts during President Bradley’s tenure to support faculty include recruiting a cluster hire of faculty whose scholarship is in the area of race and racial equity, expanding research and travel funds for a range of faculty member’s scholarly efforts, and support for the implementation of the “intensives,” a faculty curricular innovation that expand beyond the traditional classroom. Enhancements to student life include the addition of staff in mental health, residential life, and affinity group spaces as well as the development of new programs including the Engaged Pluralism Initiative and Summer Immersion in the Liberal Arts, a two-week program that helps prepare incoming first-year students from underrepresented groups to forge connections and build community before arriving for the Fall Semester. President Bradley has also improved students’ on-campus experience through the renovation of many of Vassar’s residential, classroom, and administrative buildings.

President Bradley has expanded Vassar’s global reach by forming partnerships with institutions of higher education in India, Rwanda, and Scotland—as well as founding the Vassar Institute for the Liberal Arts, which will serve as a physical space to convene scholars and thought leaders from Vassar, our local area, and around the globe. Closer to home, President Bradley has forged strong student connections, sending weekly emails to all Vassar students; opening her home to students to host game nights and on snowy days, sanctuary for those in need of hot chocolate and cookies; and holding weekly office hours on Sunday nights for students to speak with her privately about any issue.