With a majority of the votes in her favor, former dean Elizabeth Imhof has been elected as Academic Senate president.

Currently a faculty member, Imhof has previously taken on various roles such as dean of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, director of the Faculty Resource Center and Faculty Professional Development Coordinator. With her new role she aims to address the concerns of both faculty and administration to create better shared governance and more transparent communication. 

“I really hope to help to bring peace. I think that the tension right now between the upper administration and the faculty is terrible,” Imhof said. “I really want to help make it so that the sides see each other, so that they can work together to benefit the institution and our students and remember that it really is about our students.”

Her new role as president comes after she received a non-renewal contract as dean.

“I want to take care, not to allow any personal feelings or grudges to impact the institution,” Imhof said. “I’ve brought a lot of good to this institution, and I want to continue to do right by it.”

Reflecting on her previous experiences in both faculty and administration, Imhof described the challenges of both roles and how it gave her a better insight into the campus.

“It allowed me to see how hard the job of a dean is. I truly believe it’s the hardest job on this campus,” Imhof said. 

It allowed her to see her colleagues from a different perspective. 

With funding being a key issue on the campus, Imhof emphasized the importance of understanding the budget and making evidence-based decisions along with a need for faculty to be involved in decision-making to ensure success. Imhof expressed a need for administrators to be open to the needs of students and faculty.

“Administrators very rarely deal with students and so the voice of the people who are in the classrooms or in their offices or in some kind of resource on campus with students has to be heard,” Imhof said. “It is an essential part of the decision-making process and I believe[d] that throughout my career as a dean.”

Current Academic Senate President Joshua Ramirez recounted his experience on the role and how difficult of a role it can be.

“It’s hard to get people to take on this role,” Ramirez said. “It is a multifaceted role that puts us in touch sometimes with the community as well and it’s beyond the classroom, it’s beyond just working with our colleagues.”

Despite the challenges, Ramirez recalled his personal experiences working with Imhof and how her dedication and knowledge of City College have prepared her for her new role. 

“She has given her life to this institution and… I trust her to be able to execute the responsibilities of the academic senate president,” Ramirez said.

Imhof will officially begin as Academic Senate President-Elect for the 2025 and 2026 school year.

“They would say that this is where I belong,” Imhof said. “They would say that I was never meant to be a leader, a dean, that I’ve always just been far too much on the faculty side, but I believe the faculty side is the institution side and the student side.”