On Feb. 6, University President Marvin Krislov sent out a letter via email to University students announcing his decision to not seek a third term as president. No clear reason was stated, leading to speculation about the motivation, but he clarified this and shared further insights into his time as president in a recent interview with The Pace Press.
“I felt that 10 years is a long time and a good run. We’ve been through a lot [in that time] and my goal is to leave Pace in better shape than when I found it. There are a lot of things that have happened during this period, particularly COVID in the first five years, and this last period some of the things— particularly on the federal level— have been growth experiences for me,” President Krislov said.
He still has one year left of his second five-year term, meaning that he will remain president until June 2027. The Presidential Search Committee, composed of representatives from across the University, will begin the search for the next president in the coming weeks.
“We’re in a moment that may not be as easy, but I think the long term is bright,” President Krislov said. He shared that looking ahead, one of the University’s goals will be to make sure that it is offering the classes, majors and opportunities that students want, with an emphasis on developing more interdisciplinary work. Along with that, he said that upgrades in technology, building the University’s brand and reputation and continuing to take advantage of the prosperous location of New York City are all things that the University and new president will continue to work on.
He shared that higher education has changed on many levels since his term first started— notably impacted by COVID, changes in federal funding and now, restricted international student visas. Additionally, the way that universities utilize technology has changed.
“COVID sparked more use of technology, particularly either online or hybrid learning. Universities were already trending in that direction, but COVID really drove it. Particularly for graduate education, online or hybrid is going to become even more prevalent. For example, in our business program, a lot of the students who are getting MBAs are online now,” President Krislov said.
“Another area of technology that is still in the works is artificial intelligence. We at Pace have embraced the notion that you should be educated about artificial intelligence. Every freshman now as part of CS101 has to take a module on AI, and we’re offering a catch-up class for people who didn’t catch it in their first year. The conferences [the University had about AI] were interesting because there’s a lot of focus on ethics and regulation, but also on really how to use it appropriately to improve your job skills.”
All of these changes brought new challenges, but also new opportunities for growth within the University.
“There’s so many things that I’m very proud of [within the University],” President Krislov said. Among these are upgrades in facilities, such as the construction of 15 Beekman and renovations in One Pace Plaza, and improvements in graduation, retention and overall student support.
“On the student support side, I’d say that we’ve tackled some tough issues such as mental health, food insecurity and academic needs. COVID has been documented to have some detrimental effects on people in high school, and we’ve addressed that. We haven’t just acted like it didn’t occur. To me, that is also part of caring about the students and the student experience and trying to really meet students where they are to help them out,” President Krislov said. “I know there’s more to be done, but I think that we’ve made progress in that.”
On a similar note, Krislov shared that the most rewarding part about serving as President was being able to connect with students. He hopes that students continue to utilize the University faculty, as he considers them to be a very valuable resource. As for President Krislov’s personal next steps after his term expires, he plans on remaining active, but isn’t sure what that will look like yet.
“I hope I will end up doing something that will continue to be as meaningful as this. Especially at this moment, it feels like there’s a lot in the world that needs tending to, and I just need to sort out exactly where I will end up,” President Krislov said.
He has guided the University through a decade of immense change, both within the University and the external landscape of higher education. He will continue to serve for one more year, before the next president will step into the role.
