Adelphi President Recognized in Top 25 Women in Higher Education

The national publication Diverse Issues in Higher Education has named Adelphi University President Christine M. Riordan, Ph.D., as one of its “Top 25 Women in Higher Education.”

The first woman to serve as president of Adelphi, Dr. Riordan is an internationally recognized expert in leadership development, team building, and diversity and inclusion. Under her leadership, Adelphi has developed and launched several new academic programs, expanded the services of the University’s Center for Career and Professional Development, and opened the Nexus Building, home of Adelphi’s College of Nursing and Public Health and a host of personalized student support services.

Riordan led the establishment of Adelphi’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion and initiated a Diversity Certificate training program. The University has also significantly increased the diversity of its teaching faculty in new hires the last several years – and welcomed the most diverse first-year classes in its history in the last two years. Riordan has demonstrated support for DACA students and has enhanced the concept of neurodiversity at Adelphi, focusing on services and program such as Bridges to Adelphi, which helps students on the autism spectrum achieve success.

Prior to coming to Adelphi in July 2015, Riordan was provost at the University of Kentucky and business dean at the University of Denver. She has published more than 60 academic and business press articles and has twice been named to the Long Island Press Power List of the 50 most influential people on Long Island.

About Adelphi: A modern metropolitan university with a personalized approach to higher learning.

Adelphi University is a highly awarded, nationally ranked, powerfully connected doctoral research university offering exceptional liberal arts and sciences programs and professional training with particular strength in its Core Four—Arts and Humanities, STEM and Social Sciences, Business and Education Professions, and Health and Wellness. Adelphi is dedicated to transforming students’ lives through small classes, hands-on learning and innovative ways to support student success.

Founded in Brooklyn in 1896, Adelphi is Long Island’s oldest private coeducational university. Today Adelphi serves over 7,900 students at its beautiful main campus in Garden City, New York—just 23 miles from New York City’s cultural and internship opportunities—and at dynamic learning hubs in Manhattan, the Hudson Valley and Suffolk County, and online.

More than 100,000 Adelphi graduates have gained the skills to thrive professionally as active, caring citizens, making their mark on the University, their communities and the world beyond.