CUNY announced that Baruch College professor Héctor Cordero-Guzman has been named interim president of the CUNY Research Foundation, effective Jan. 1.

“Renowned and honored over three decades as a scholar and leader in numerous fields including urban policy and sociology, Dr. Cordero-Guzmán also has wide experience in public and nonprofit sector administration and program management,” CUNY Chancellor Félix Matos Rodríguez said.

Guzman’s new position arrived following the announcement that Jarnee Bramlette, the Research Foundation’s previous president, was retiring.

The origin of CUNY’s Research Foundation dates to 1963 when it was a not-for-profit educational corporation. Around that same time, it was charted by the state of New York.

The institution aims to support CUNY members in identifying and receiving funds for research and other projects.

Guzman will bring over many years of educational experience in the CUNY system. Guzman is a professor at the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs at Baruch. He also teaches in the Ph.D. programs in sociology and in urban education at the CUNY Graduate Center.

He began his CUNY career as an associate professor and later became department chair of the Black and Latino studies department at Baruch. Guzman earned his Ph.D. and M.A. degree in sociology from the University of Chicago.

According to Guzman’s biography on the CUNY Graduate Center website, he has spent the past three years as the co-director and co-principal investigator of the federally-funded project on “Human Services Research Partnerships in Puerto Rico.”

Outside of CUNY, Guzman dedicates his time to consulting work, having consulted on several government, research and community-based organizations. He also was a program officer at The Ford Foundation.

Guzman has served on serval board of directors in organizations including the Afro-Latin Jazz Alliance, The Economic Policy Institute, The Association for Research on Non-Profit Organizations and Voluntary Action, El Museo Del Barrio and New York City’s Economic Development Corporation.

He was recently elected as a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.

Matos Rodríguez released a statement that was delivered to the CUNY community through a mass email on Dec. 16, 2021.

“He is ideally suited to steer the organization that oversees CUNY’s cutting-edge research endeavors,” Rodríguez said.

Matos Rodríguez ended his statement by thanking Bramlette for her 25 years of contribution to the CUNY system.

“She helped RFCUNY continue to improve its efficiency and cost-effectiveness, and its transition as we opened our campuses,” he said. “We are grateful for her long-standing service to the RFCUNY community.”