Trustees

Jennifer J. Raab is the 13^th president of Hunter College, the largest college in the City University of New York system. Since taking the helm in 2001, she has spearheaded Hunter’s growth and development as one of the world’s premiere urban centers of higher education. In January 2010, Hunter was ranked #2 among “Best Value” public colleges in the nation by the Princeton Review and is one of only seven colleges nationwide to score an “A” from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni in a study measuring the breadth of undergraduate core requirement.

President Raab’s role as a leader in public education is a natural extension of her long career in the public sector, which has taken her from courts of law through the halls of government. She served as a litigator at two of the nation’s most prestigious law firms – Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison – before being tapped as a political campaign adviser. Quickly earning a reputation as a strong but fair advocate, she was soon appointed chairman of the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, which protects and preserves the city’s historic structures and architectural heritage. In her seven years as chairman, President Raab – “the preservationist with a pulse,” according to The New York Times – became known for her ambitious and effective leadership.

In September 2009, President Raab was named by Crain’s New York Business as one of the “50 Most Powerful Women” in New York. President Raab had previously been named by Crain’s New York Business as one of New York City’s 100 Most Influential Women in Business in October 2007. In December 2008, she was honored with both the Carter Burden Humanitarian Award, presented by the Carter Burden Center for the Aging, and the Excellence in Education Award, given by the 1199SEIU Child Care Corporation in recognition of her dedication to the children of New York. The United Way honored her as at their Third Annual Women United in Philanthropy: “The Power of Women to Make a Difference”. She is also the 2006 recipient of the Benjamin E. Mays Award from A Better Chance, awarded to "an educator whose principles of personal commitment, integrity, achievement and concern for others reflect those of Dr. Mays, the late President of Morehouse College."

President Raab is an active member of the New York community. She serves on the steering committees of DirectWomen (an organization serving accomplished women attorneys) and the Association for a Better New York, where she is also on the Foundation Board of Directors. She is also a member of the New York Building Congress, The Council on Foreign Relations, the Board of Directors of Humanity in Action, and The After School Corporation. Mayor Michael Bloomberg appointed President Raab as a member of the 2004-2005 New York City Charter Revision Commission.

President Raab is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Cornell University. She holds a Master in Public Affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton and received her law degree cum laude from Harvard Law School.

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