Jeffrey Rodus, a Baruch alumni and former New York City councilman, who served the city for over two decades, was appointed as Vice Chancellor for Government Affairs by the CUNY board of trustees on Jan. 17.

Rodus, a New York-born citizen who has a deep connection with the CUNY system, graduated from Baruch with a Master’s in Public Administration, where he would go on to teach master’s level courses in finance and accounting.

“As a proud Baruch College alum, I know firsthand how a high-quality education can help impact and shape one’s life,” Rodus said in a statement. “I look forward to working across CUNY’s 25 campuses to ensure the University’s partnership with the city, state and federal governments are strategically aligned so the colleges receive the resources needed to fulfill their critical mission.”

He was a recipient of Baruch’s 2011 Distinguished Alumni Award, a selective award given to alums from Baruch College who become substantial leaders worldwide.

Rodus has put an emphasis on affordable and quality education that will likely lead to future budget proposals, reforms and the enactment of various coalition projects from the newly appointed Chancellor for Government Affairs, whose job is to establish and maintain these partnerships between different levels of government.

Rodus held positions in the public and private sectors.

He served New York for over 25 years, starting as a legislative financial analyst, and rising to the rank of deputy director in 2000 and first deputy in 2008. He has been at the forefront of increasing opportunities for its residents.

“Jeff’s leadership skills, negotiation expertise and institutional knowledge of city government, as well as his strong longstanding connections to CUNY, will be invaluable,” CUNY Chancellor Matos Rodríguez said. “As he works to develop the University’s relationships with leaders and policymakers across the public sector.”

Conditionally, he served as a senior vice president at CMW Strategies, a government relations and consulting firm specializing in the organization of communities and coalition building from 2015-2021.

After leaving CMW Strategies LLC, he served under Mayor Eric Adam’s administration as chief of staff to the first deputy mayor, where he negotiated large-scale budget proposals amounting to $95-100 billion. His negotiations led to the creation of the Science Park and Research Campus (SPARC), which will create new career pipelines for students in life sciences and public health sectors, according to Ariana Costakes, the Communications Editorial Manager at CUNYSPH.

“I’m very excited to work with Chancellor Matos Rodríguez and his administration to help advance CUNY’s mission and strategic priorities,” Rodus said in a closing statement.