The fall semester is underway, and Queens College has turned to a familiar face to lead the campus through its next chapter.
Elizabeth “Betsy” Hendrey, who spent 33 years at the CUNY school in a series of academic and administrative roles, took over as interim president Aug. 1, succeeding Frank Wu, who retired July 30 after six years at the helm.
Hendrey graduated cum laude from Princeton University with a degree in economics and earned her master’s and doctorate in economics from Duke University.
She first joined Queens College as an assistant professor of economics in 1989. Hendrey later served as chair of the Economics Department and dean of social sciences and had several senior administrative posts before becoming provost and senior vice president for academic affairs in 2013, a position she held through 2022.
She remained at Queens College as a special adviser to Wu through 2025 before serving most recently as interim provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at CUNY’s Medgar Evers College.
“I look forward to returning home to this talented and dedicated community,” Hendrey said in a message to Queens College students, faculty and staff.
CUNY Chancellor Félix Matos Rodr’guez said in a letter to the college community that Hendrey’s history with the college made her well-suited to guide it through the transition, calling Queens College an institution “she knows so well.”
“We will launch a national search for QC’s next permanent leader in accordance with the University’s Guidelines for Presidential Searches and the bylaws of the Board of Trustees,” Matos Rodr’guez wrote. “In the meantime, please join me in welcoming Dr. Hendrey back to Queens College.”