Dr. Nancy L. Zimpher
Chancellor Emeritus, State University of New York
Nancy L. Zimpher is Chancellor Emeritus of the State University of New York (SUNY), having served from 2009 to 2017 as SUNY’s 12th chancellor, the nation’s largest comprehensive system of public higher education. Prior to SUNY, she served as president of the University of Cincinnati, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and executive dean of the Professional Colleges and dean of the College of Education at The Ohio State University.
Throughout her career, Dr. Zimpher has embraced the expansive responsibilities of public higher education in the 21st century. “To educate more people and to educate them better” is at the center of her collective-impact theory of action: to drive regional and local economic development; to create seamless cradle-to-career education pipelines in every community; and to systemically transform teaching and learning for students in our urban and rural school settings.
Dr. Zimpher is co-founder of StriveTogether, a national network of innovative partnerships that holistically addresses challenges across the education pipeline. She served as chair of the National Association of System Heads, the New York Academy of Sciences, CEOs for Cities and the Coalition of Urban Serving Universities.
Dr. Zimpher holds a BS in English Education and Speech, an MA in English Literature and a PhD in Teacher Education and Higher Education Administration, all from The Ohio State University.