18. Kimberly Cline

The tenth president at Long Island University, one of the nation’s largest and most comprehensive private universities, Kimberly Cline is the first woman to hold the post in the institution’s nearly 90-year history. Thanks to her guidance, the university has had its strongest operating results in its history, earning accolades from Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s, which upgraded their ratings on LIU’s outlook, citing better operating margins and stronger financial resources. She came to the position with a trifecta of university experience that encompassed managerial, financial, and legal expertise, after having served as president of Mercy College, vice chancellor and chief financial officer of the State University of New York, and as a university attorney. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Relations, a Master of Business Administration, Juris Doctor, and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration. But what makes her truly unique is her ability to coordinate all of the moving parts of LIU within its multiple campuses—educating more than 20,000 students and offer more than 500 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degree programs and certificates. From coordinating both the urban and suburban components of LIU, she’s enhanced how they complement each other, and by doing so, she’s been able to increase enrollment and achieve record student retention. By combining rigorous academic instruction with real-world experience, she’s helped LIU become a recognized leader in such diverse fields as technology, public relations, financial investing, and fashion merchandising. Cline is reinventing how higher education is perceived on Long Island. As the head of her team, she’s made Long Island University, with its footprint in Brooklyn and Brookville, a go-to school for some of the most ambitious students in our region.