Though it”™s just four months into her tenure as president of Long Island University, Kimberly R. Cline already knows her latest career move is a good fit.
“I will say I”™m enjoying myself tremendously,” she said on a recent afternoon from her office at the LIU Post campus. “I find the culture inspiring. The staff members are really committed to putting the students first. ”¦There”™s a love of LIU from the people that work on the campus in general.”
And the former president of Mercy College who resigned to take the LIU position said the smooth transition from one metro-area, multicampus private institution to another ”“ each with a Westchester presence ”“ is due to several factors.
“I feel as a leader that the scope and the duties are the same,” she said.
And, she added, she has felt a very warm welcome. With the appointment, Cline succeeded David J. Steinberg, who retired after 27 years as the school”™s chief executive.
“He was so gracious in the transition,” she said, before adding with a laugh, “I have his number on speed dial.”
Joking aside, Cline said that in the new job ”“ as the first woman to hold the office of president in the university”™s 87-year history ”“ she has felt nothing but support, something evidenced by comments made at the time of her appointment.
LIU”™s Edward Travaglianti, chairman of the board of trustees, noted “Dr. Cline is a change agent with a proven record of success in complex, multicampus institutions.”
LIU trustee Eric Krasnoff, who chaired the search committee, added, “Dr. Cline”™s collaborative style, business acumen and sensitivity to student financial concerns make her the perfect person for the job.”
At Mercy College, Cline”™s accomplishments, among others, included achieving the school”™s first-ever “A” rating from Standard & Poor”™s.
Before her work at Mercy, with a main campus in Dobbs Ferry, Cline was vice chancellor and CFO of the State University of New York, where she was responsible for the 64-campus system”™s financial and administrative functions. She joined SUNY with experience as vice president for finance and administration at Seton Hall University and at Hofstra University, where she was university attorney, assistant treasurer, assistant vice president for business affairs and had taught business law at Hofstra”™s School of Business.
Cline has jumped right in at LIU, which offers nearly 500 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degree programs and certificates in Brooklyn, Brookville (LIU Post), Brentwood, Riverhead and LIU Hudson, with campuses in Purchase and Orangeburg, plus overseas and online.
Though the campuses are indeed diverse, Cline said they are united as “one LIU.”
Early months on the job have been spent indentifying priorities and developing programs that “make sense” for an institution in such proximity to New York City.
She likes to talk of “the art of possibility” and sees her work as building on LIU”™s already strong foundation. Her goals, she said, include developing both programs and the national profile, spreading “the LIU message.”
“At Brooklyn, you have the hottest place to be right now,” she said, while the LIU Post campus, a 300-acre spread, “has that “Gold Coast, ”˜Great Gatsby”™ feel.”
In other words, there is something for everyone. Already, she noted, participation in Division I sports helps attract students “from all around the country and the world.”
Cline said she has found a good team in place at LIU, which enables work to proceed.
“I”™m a big believer in collaboration,” she said.
And that plays out across the board, from encouraging the securing of grants for more medical research to expanding the strong visual arts programs to making sure business students receive more than just classroom learning.
“We”™re very focused on making sure our students have real experience,” she said.
All, she said, can be traced back to her earliest days in North Carolina.
“My mom was a math teacher, so education was always important in our house.”
Cline was going to be a pediatrician but ended up going to law school instead. She earned a bachelor”™s of science in industrial relations at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and went on to complete an MBA, a Juris Doctor and a doctor of educational administration degree at Hofstra.
“Once I began working in higher education, I realized I had such a love for being able to help students,” she said. “I always felt that as I was getting more and more experiences it would be wonderful to put those all to use and lead a very good team.”
And that has guided her ever since as she made her way to one leadership role after another in education.
“That was a dream but I never thought about moving from one institution to another,” she said. Instead, her career progression was more natural and less calculated, simply welcoming opportunities as they presented themselves.
Throughout, she has remained active and involved in advisory roles, on committees and in leadership organizations.
It”™s simply a way to give back.
“I always try to mentor folks,” she said, noting her own mentors included Mary M. Lai, who worked at LIU for nearly 70 years and was the university”™s first CFO, and Vice Admiral John Ryan, SUNY”™s chancellor during Cline”™s time with the university system.
These days, Cline can be found making visits to each campus ”“ or simply walking the halls and attending events.
“I find you learn a lot when you”™re walking around,” she said.
That could range from a telling conversation with a student to observing that the school retains a “neat, clean, safe” environment. She also spends time meeting with donors and continues to cultivate a particularly strong alumni network.
But whether Cline is talking to students or colleagues, she said she is fond of sharing one piece of advice.
“Planning is very important and you have to have a strategy ”“ but if you”™re not able to execute, then you can”™t cross the finish line.”
And Cline is poised to do just that at LIU.
“I am settled in and we”™re moving forward,” she said. “There are great things ahead.”
Winners Circle is a biweekly feature that will take a look at the top women business executives and top attorneys, men and women, in the region. To nominate someone, please contact John Golden at jgolden@westfairinc.com.
