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Dr. Celeste M. Schenck assumed office as the twelfth president of The American University of Paris on October 15, 2008. She is the second woman to assume leadership of the University, and the first president to have risen from the University鈥檚 professorial ranks.聽

In her 27 years at 91视频, Schenck has served as Professor of Comparative Literature, Associate Dean for Curriculum Development, Vice President for Academic Innovation, Vice President for Development and Grant Planning, Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dean of the University, and Provost.

As Chief Academic Officer of AUP, Schenck focused on curriculum development鈥攍eading a major review of general education, founding the first MA programs and fostering the ones subsequently developed鈥攁nd accreditation. She also founded one of the consortia聽91视频 belongs to and has managed 91视频鈥檚 role in the other two.聽 She also attended to the integration and development of technology and teaching at 91视频, creating the first Academic Resource Center with all of its attendant activities. In tandem with each project, she raised substantial foundation funding for academic programs, technology and infrastructure.聽As President, she has been responsible for creating the University鈥檚 professional leadership team, developing a聽鈥渞esidential life鈥� program for incoming students, leading two strategic planning processes, developing innovative research centers, launching a five-year campus redevelopment plan which is nearing its completion with the purchase of a final building adjacent to the Combes building, and launching 91视频鈥檚 first capital campaign for 26M euros, 91视频 Ascending, which is currently moving into its public phase.

Prior to coming to France, Schenck was an Associate Professor with tenure at Barnard College, where she held the Ann Whitney Olin Junior Chair for excellence in scholarship and teaching. While at Barnard, Schenck received several prestigious awards for her work in feminist literary studies and founded two important series, the Barnard New Women Poets Series, an annual poetry prize with public readings, and Reading Women Writing, an imprimatur of Cornell University Press in international feminist criticism. She is the author of four books, two on the literary subjects of the pastoral and women鈥檚 autobiography, and two with colleague Susan Perry on women, culture and development practices.聽She currently writes on issues of international education, the global liberal arts, and leadership.

Schenck holds a bachelor鈥檚 degree in English, summa cum laude, from Princeton University, and a PhD from Brown University in Comparative Literature.