Karen R. Hitchcock, PhD is Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. She took over from Queen's seventeenth principal, William C. Leggett on July 1 2004.
Edited from Dr. Hitchcock's Biography on the Queen's University web page
Dr. Karen Hitchcock became Queens University's 18th Principal on July 1, 2004. Prior to that appointment, Dr. Hitchcock had, for eight and a half years, been President of the University at Albany, State University of New York. She stepped into the SUNY position after serving as Provost (chief academic officer) of the University at Albany for five years. In 2005, Dr. Hitchcock resigned abruptly from the SUNY system in connection with an investigation into alleged unethical conduct (see below). Dr. Hitchcock received her B.S. in biology from St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York and her Ph. D. in Anatomy from the University of Rochester, School of Medicine and Dentistry. As a Postdoctoral Fellow, she did work in pulmonary cell biology at The Webb-Waring Institute for Medical Research at the University of Colorado Medical Center. Dr. Hitchcock was appointed President of the University at Albany in 1996. Before arriving at the University at Albany in 1991, she served as Vice Chancellor for Research, Dean of the Graduate College, professor of anatomy and cell biology, and professor of biological sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago. From 1985 to 1987, she was Associate Dean for Basic Sciences, Research and Graduate Studies, School of Medicine, Texas Tech Health Sciences Center. Dr. Hitchcock spent a significant part of her career at Boston's Tufts University and served as the George A. Bates Professor of Histology and Chair of the Department of Anatomy and Cellular Biology in the Schools of Medicine, Dental Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and the Sackler Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Dr. Hitchcock claims as her accomplishments at the University at Albany: engaging faculty in a major strategic planning process; establishing a new budget process and creating a faculty-based, campus-wide Resources and Priorities Committee to advise on resource allocation; collaborating with faculty on a major expansion of academic programs, including graduate degree programs; reversing a 12-year decline in faculty size through budget reallocation; and major targeted investments in faculty recruitment, research support services and infrastructure. Sponsored research at the University at Albany increased 47 percent over six years to $126 million. Other claimed achievements involved developing a campus-wide technology plan, including bringing on-line a major new science library initiated by her predecssor; and developing, in consultation with faculty, a strategic initiative for expanding international programs, curriculum offerings and student and faculty exchanges. As President, Dr. Hitchcock launched a $750-million fundraising campaign, later abandoned by her successor as unsuccessful. Dr. Hitchcock has published extensively in the field of cell and developmental biology and been the recipient of grants from the National Institutes of Health. She has served on NIH study sections, review panels and advisory committees including the National Advisory Research Resources Council and has received awards such as the National Science Foundation Professorship for Women in Science and Engineering (1983-84) and the Marketer of Excellence Award from the New York Capital Region Chapter of the American Marketing Association (2002). In 2004, she was inducted into the Capital Region (Albany, NY) Business Hall of Fame and won a Woman in the Media Award from the Women's Press Club of New York State. She has received honorary doctoral degrees from the Albany Medical College and her alma mater, St. Lawrence University. She has also served as president of her professional society, The American Association of Anatomists and completed two terms as a member of the National Board of Medical Examiners.
Ethics Inquiry
On February 25, 2005, the New York Times reported that Hitchcock had faced a state ethics inquiry about allegations that she had offered to grant a mutli-million dollar construction contract to a developer, in exchange for an endowed university professorship which she would hold exclusively once she left the presidency. At that time Dr. Hitchcock had reportedly been informed by the then-Chancellor of the University system, Robert King, that she would be terminated as President. The ethics allegations were referred to the New York State Ethics Commission by then-Chancellor King with the support of the University's Board of Trustees. It is alleged that once the inquiry became known to Hitchcock, she resigned from the SUNY Albany as soon as possible in order to excape liability. Dr. Hitchcock had been advised by legal counsel that the New York Ethics Commission is unable to take action against someone who has ceased being a state employee. In Canada, the Senate Committee responsible for the appointment of Hitchcock reported after the incident was made public at Queen's University that they had been made aware of the allegations by Dr. Hitchcock prior to their decision. The Senate Committee launched an investigation into the manner and found the allegations groundless. Hitchcock, through a legal team, claims to have approached the Governor of the State of New York asking for the case to be reopened and investigated so as to clear her name. Queen's University has also hired legal assistance in the case.
Hitchcock also co-hosts a weekly radio show on U.S. Public Radio called "The Best of Our Knowledge."
External links
- Office of the Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Queen's University
- Queen's Journal: Hitchcock ethics inquiry revealed
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by William C. Leggett |
Principal of Queen's University 2004 – present |
Incumbent |
