CUNY Appoints Veteran CUNY Educator Claudia Schrader as Eighth President of York College

Makes Permanent the Interim Post She Has Held Since January 2024 Schrader Has Served in Leadership and Faculty Posts on Four Campuses Including Five Years as President of Kingsborough Community College

The City University of New York has appointed Claudia V. Schrader as president of York College, making permanent the post she has held on an interim basis since January 2024. A veteran CUNY educator, Schrader has brought energetic and innovative leadership to four of its campuses during her two-decade career with the University. Her appointment, approved today by the CUNY Board of Trustees, makes her the eighth president of the Jamaica, Queens, college and is effective May 1. 

During her 15 months as interim president of York, Schrader has overseen significant improvements to campus facilities, including the establishment of a graduate student lounge and upgrades to common areas, the cafeteria and the public safety break room. She has worked with elected and community leaders to advocate for resources and opportunities for the college and its 6,200 students. Schrader also established the York Opportunity Network (YON), a consortium of community and interfaith organizations and businesses mobilized to empower pre-college youth by showcasing York College as a premier institution where they can achieve their academic and career goals. In addition, she has launched the college’s Middle States Self Study process. 

“President Schrader is a proven leader whose passion for CUNY’s mission of educational opportunity and excellence has had a significant impact on a generation of students throughout our system,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “She has already brought that energy to the York College community, and I have no doubt that she will continue to raise the bar for a campus that has a proud history of aspiration and achievement throughout its nearly 60-year history. President Schrader brings the added benefits of stability for CUNY and York at a time of pressing challenges in higher education.”  

“I am profoundly grateful for the opportunity to serve as president of York College, a vital anchor in the City University of New York,” said President Schrader. “As we navigate this critical moment in higher education, York’s role as a powerful driver of economic mobility has never been more important. I look forward to continued collaboration with our dedicated faculty and staff, vibrant students and external stakeholders to foster educational excellence, deliver on our mission and ensure that our college remains a cornerstone of innovation and opportunity in Southeast Queens, NYC and beyond.” 

Prior to her appointment at York, Schrader was the first African American president of CUNY’s Kingsborough Community College. During her five-year tenure, the college opened its first satellite location and launched initiatives such as KCC FLEX, one of CUNY’s earliest online hybrid degree programs, to provide adult learners with an affordable, flexible way to obtain a college degree. Under her leadership, Kingsborough twice advanced to the final round of 10 schools competing for the highly prestigious Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. Schrader was also selected by Aspen’s College Excellence Program as one of 25 recipients of its New Presidents Fellowship. 

Earlier in her career, Schrader served in leadership posts at two other CUNY colleges: She was provost and senior vice president for academic and student success at Bronx Community College; and associate provost at Medgar Evers College, where she also held a tenured appointment as an associate professor of education and served as her department’s deputy chair. She has also been associate provost at William Patterson University in New Jersey. 

Born and raised in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, Schrader earned her bachelor’s degree at Rutgers University and three graduate degrees in education — two master’s and her doctorate — from Teachers College, Columbia University.  

The City University of New York is the nation’s largest urban public university, a transformative engine of social mobility that is a critical component of the lifeblood of New York City. Founded in 1847 as the nation’s first free public institution of higher education, CUNY today has seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges and seven graduate or professional institutions spread across New York City’s five boroughs, serving nearly 240,000 undergraduate and graduate students and awarding 50,000 degrees each year. CUNY’s mix of quality and affordability propels almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all the Ivy League colleges combined. More than 80 percent of the University’s graduates stay in New York, contributing to all aspects of the city’s economic, civic and cultural life and diversifying the city’s workforce in every sector. CUNY’s graduates and faculty have received many prestigious honors, including 13 Nobel Prizes and 26 MacArthur “genius” grants. The University’s historic mission continues to this day: provide a first-rate public education to all students, regardless of means or background. To learn more about CUNY, visit https://www.cuny.edu.