Dr. John L. Graham Appointed Interim Dean of the School of Business at Medgar Evers College
Medgar Evers College of The City University of New York (CUNY) announces the appointment of Dr. John L. Graham as Interim Dean of the School of Business at Medgar Evers College. A national search will be launched shortly for a permanent Dean of the School of Business.
“Dr. Graham’s broad administrative experience and exemplary record of accomplishment will greatly benefit the students, faculty, and staff of the School of Business, as well as the College as a whole,” said Dr. William L. Pollard, President of Medgar Evers College. “We are truly fortunate to have someone of his caliber serving in this capacity.”
Dr. John L. Graham served as a Franklin Fellow at the United States Department of State. He was a Foreign Affairs Officer-Expert in the Bureau of African Affairs’ Office of Economic Policy Staff where he supported the Bureau’s foreign policy objectives on food security issues, such as commodity prices, drought, use of biotechnology, and the impact of local prices in Sub-Saharan Africa. Within the scope of his work, he represented the Bureau in its interactions with several U.S. government development-assistance agencies, congressional staff, industry and foreign government embassy personnel. Dr. Graham served on the Department of State’s 2009 Negotiation Team for the Commission on Sustainable Development at the United Nations, interfacing with foreign diplomats from more than 100 nations that convene to discuss issues of global significance. Dr. Graham’s other notable experience was as a speech writer for the Assistant Secretary for African Affairs and Secretary of State on food security initiatives in Africa.
Dr. Graham served as Assistant Vice President for International Affairs at Delaware State University from 2004 to 2008, preceding his appointment at the Department of State. As part of a presidential initiative, he led a collaborative institution-wide effort to bring international experiences and activities to campus by providing students with experiences beyond the classroom setting that lead to global competency and competitiveness. He worked strategically with faculty, staff, and academic deans to negotiate institutional partnerships with 45 higher education institutions on five continents. While teaching in the Global Societies Program, Dr. Graham also designed and implemented study abroad programs in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Caribbean, and both Central and North America over an eight-year period.
Prior to his tenure at Delaware State University, Dr. Graham served as Country Representative for Africare, Inc. in Uganda for three years (1996-1999), wherein he managed two United States Agency for International Development-funded development assistance programs; one, which focused on food security in three districts, was a multi-million dollar initiative. His collaborative work in community and economic development included strategic programmatic alignment with foreign diplomatic missions, non-government organizations, development banks, local government and councils, various civic and youth organizations, and women’s groups.
Dr. Graham earned a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in economics (1989), an M.S. in Agriculture and Extension Education with a concentration in development economics (1991) at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and a Ph.D. in Agricultural and Extension Education at Michigan State University (1996).
About Medgar Evers College, CUNY
Medgar Evers College was founded in 1969 through the efforts from educators and community leaders in central Brooklyn. The College is named after Medgar Wiley Evers, a Mississippi-born black civil rights activist who was assassinated on June 12, 1963. The College is divided into four schools: The School of Business; The School of Professional and Community Development; The School of Liberal Arts and Education; and The School of Science, Health, and Technology. Through these Schools, the College offers 29 associate and baccalaureate degree programs, as well as certificate programs in fields such as English, Nursing, and Accounting. Medgar Evers College also operates several co-curricular and external programs and associated centers such as the Male Development and Empowerment Center, the Center for Women’s Development, the Center for Black Literature, and The DuBois Bunche Center for Public Policy.
