Wendy F. Hensel
Executive Vice Chancellor and University Provost
Wendy F. Hensel is the Executive Vice Chancellor and University Provost for The City University of New York. As a distinguished legal scholar and academic leader with more than twenty years of experience, she has dedicated her career to promoting inclusivity and academic excellence for all students regardless of their background.
As CUNY’s Chief Academic Officer and Chief Executive of the Office of Academic Affairs, EVC Hensel oversees every aspect of the student and faculty experience, including academic programs and policy; research programs; strategic planning and innovation; student success and inclusion initiatives; faculty and student affairs; institutional effectiveness; K-16 initiatives and enrollment; and workforce development. She regularly represents CUNY in public hearings and meetings with governmental, community, and philanthropic constituents, advocating for increased access to higher education and support for the university community. Additionally, EVC Hensel works closely with the Office of Careers and Industry Partnerships in collaboration with New York City and key employers to embed in-demand skills within the curriculum, identify academic programs aligned with emerging areas of workforce demand, and forge new public-private partnerships.
EVC Hensel drafted the University’s 2023-2030 strategic plan in widespread collaboration with faculty, staff, and administrators across CUNY and is leading the seven-year implementation plan for the Office of Academic Affairs. Under her leadership, the University has significantly expanded the number of high-quality virtual degree programs to provide access to adult learners and those in need of flexible programming. EVC Hensel also initiated and is leading the implementation of an innovative system-wide transfer plan in partnership with faculty leaders that will allow students for the first-time to transition seamlessly within a major between CUNY’s community and senior colleges, speeding time to graduation and reducing student debt. She is deeply engaged in the use of analytics and artificial intelligence to improve student outcomes, modernize the curriculum, and increase efficiencies throughout the university.
Prior to coming to CUNY, EVC Hensel had a decade of academic leadership experience at Georgia State University (GSU) in Atlanta. GSU is an urban R-1 public research institution that has been ranked by U.S. News as one of the most innovative universities in the country and best in undergraduate teaching among public universities. As Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs, EVC Hensel led the development and implementation of academic plans during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure that GSU’s 53,000 students received uninterrupted academic instruction. She has also served as the Dean of the College of Law and was a member of GSU’s law faculty for twenty-three years, reaching the status of full tenured professor in 2011.
As a legal scholar in the areas of disability law, policy, and ethics and a passionate advocate for people with disabilities, EVC Hensel has published widely and presented frequently on these topics. She serves on the Board of Directors for Integrate, an organization promoting inclusive employment for professionals with autism, and previously on the boards of the United Way of Greater Atlanta, the Cumberland Academy of Georgia, and Parent to Parent of Georgia.
Prior to her academic career, EVC Hensel worked as an attorney and judicial clerk. At Alston & Bird LLP in Atlanta, she litigated employment discrimination cases and counseled Fortune 500 companies on compliance with Title VII and the Americans with Disabilities Act. She also served as a clerk for Judge Orinda Evans of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. She was inducted as a Fellow of the American Bar Association in 2019 and maintains her professional licensure.
EVC Hensel is a cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School and earned a bachelor’s in American public affairs with highest honors from Michigan State University, where she was a Harry S. Truman scholar and an intern at the United States Supreme Court.