Rogan Kersh, an NYU professor and Faculty Fellow in Residence at Goddard Residential College, is leaving NYU at the end of the academic year to work as a provost at Wake Forest University next fall.
Images
"I've been incredibly fortunate to work with such extraordinary faculty, administrators and staff at NYU," Kersh said. "It's hard to imagine leaving such an engaging and nurturing professional environment."
Wake Forest President Nathan Hatch said that Kersh is a dynamic leader who will be able to bring relevant leadership experience and a commitment to preserving the core values of the university.
"His connections to admissions, student life and international studies will all be a plus for us," Hatch said. "His research interests in obesity will provide a good connection to our school of medicine as well."
As provost, Kersh will supervise professional schools and undergraduate departments, as well as athletics and student life.
While at NYU, Kersh was heavily involved with the Residential College — a service-based program of students in the Goddard and Broome residence halls. There, Kersh served as a Faculty Fellow in Residence, bringing eco-friendly sustainability initiatives and unique programming and encouraging students to become "citizens of the world."
CAS junior Laurea Yanushpolsky said that Kersh created a vibrant atmosphere in Goddard and even put together a service trip to New Orleans where students worked to rebuild houses in an environmentally conscious way to help improve neighborhoods that were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
"He pushed me to think bigger, to challenge myself to my limits and to always remember that I am an active citizen of society and that my actions, big or small, matter," Yanushpolsky said.
In his Wagner Public Policy and Politics classes, Kersh strove to engage students and spark their interest at the beginning of their academic careers.
"Rogan Kersh, more than any other professor at NYU, was my mentor and my greatest guide in the search for a career and a passion," said Meb Bryne, a recent NYU graduate and student in the original Goddard cohort. "He singled me out as a freshman in Goddard Hall to intern on Capitol Hill, introducing me to politics and paving the way to the best internship I have ever had."
