PROFILE   |   Nancy L. Zimpher

Nancy L. Zimpher Special Advisor to the President, NASH and Chancellor Emeritus, The State University of New York

Nancy L. Zimpher is Chancellor Emeritus of The State University of New York (SUNY) and from 2009 to 2017, served as the twelfth chancellor of The State University of New York, 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.

Dr. Zimpher is currently Interim Executive Director of the National Association System Heads, a leadership organization for presidents and chancellors who lead this nation’s public higher education systems across the fifty states, an organization she chaired for three years while serving at SUNY. Today NASH is leading a comprehensive transformation agenda called the Power of Systems, leveraging “systemness” to advance prosperity for the country by using collective impact and improvement science to increase credential and degree completion, expand social and economic mobility, and bring down the cost of college.

Dr. Zimpher is co-founder of StriveTogether, a national network of innovative partnerships that holistically address challenges across the education pipeline. As SUNY chancellor, in addition to chairing NASH, she also chaired the New York Academy of Sciences from 2011–2016, CEOs for Cities from 2012–2013, the Coalition of Urban Serving Universities from 2005–2011, chaired the Board of the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU) and served two terms on the board of the American Council on Education (ACE). Most recently, she completed a six-year term on the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics (KCIA), serving as co-chair year for the past two years. She currently serves on the National Advisory Board of College Promise, a non-profit focused on building broad public support for funding the first two or more years of postsecondary education.

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.