Biography
Dr. Jermaine Wright has approximately 20 years of experience in organizational effectiveness, leadership development, performance measurement and improvement, diversity/inclusion, management and operations, and fundraising/development. His leadership reflects an abiding commitment to the core values of educational access and excellence. Dr. Wright is currently the Vice President for Student Affairs at Lehman College/CUNY where he provides leadership to the Division of Student Affairs to create an environment in which students are engaged, persist, and thrive.
Prior to his arrival at Lehman College/CUNY, Dr. Wright served as the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs at Southern Connecticut State University (Southern) where he was responsible for the management and stewardship of the following departments within the Division of Student Affairs: University Access Programs, Student Involvement and Leadership Development, the Multicultural Center, the Sexuality and Gender Equality (SAGE) Center, the Michael J. Adanti Student Center, and the John Lyman Performing Arts Center. Before Southern, Dr. Wright worked at the City University of New York (CUNY) for about a decade in a variety of roles. He began as the Founding University Associate Director of the CUNY Black Male Initiative (BMI) three years after BMI was established. Dr. Wright spent six years in this role and grew BMI from 15 demonstration projects to 24 CUNY-wide student development projects centered on mentoring. He then assumed the role of University Director further growing BMI to over 30 projects. Within that three-year time frame, BMI became more data-driven, results focused, and a national model for serving men of color in higher education. Dr. Wright’s final role at CUNY was the Interim University Associate Dean of Special Programs where he was in charge of key University programs that increase, encourage and support the inclusion and educational success of underrepresented groups in higher education.
Preceding his career in higher education, Dr. Wright worked in the non-profit sector at the National Urban League (NUL) as a Regional Program Manager for the Urban Youth Empowerment Program (UYEP), a comprehensive workforce development model for disconnected and adjudicated youth between the ages of 18 -24. Dr. Wright’s other work experience includes monitoring the employment status of clients transitioning from public assistance to the workforce as a Site Supervisor at Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement (HCCI) and developing workshops/special events for low-wage workers as an AmeriCorps member. In his spare time, he serves as a mentor to young people through Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc., an international service organization predicated on achievement and the uplifting of underserved low-income communities.
His academic experience includes serving as an adjunct professor teaching Introduction to Public Administration. This course focused on developing each student’s comprehension of the history and foundational underpinnings of Public Administration. The course covered the economic, political, and social dynamics within the field of Public Administration as well as the management challenges related to human resources, finances, program development, evaluation, technology, and strategic planning. Through the use of the textbook, assigned readings, and hands-on experiential learning, students were afforded an opportunity to advance their theoretical and practical knowledge of public administration. He also taught a class on Leadership and Diversity. His Leadership and Diversity class was an interactive course that broadly examined leadership theory. The course focused on a range of specific topics including, but not limited to, leadership and management; qualities and characteristics of effective leadership; conflict management and team building; leadership tasks including visioning, agenda setting, and resource mobilization; leadership in organizational and political settings; role of followership and impact of diversity on leaders.
Dr. Wright earned a dual Bachelor’s in Political Science and Sociology from Binghamton University, a Master’s in Public Administration from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and a Ph.D. in Public Administration with a focus on Performance Measurement and Improvement from Rutgers University-Newark School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA). His dissertation research titled, “Equity as an Outcome: The Use of Performance Information to Address the Achievement Gap in Higher Education for Men of Color,” focused on equity and the use of performance information to make strategic decisions in higher education.