A seasoned leader with over 35 years of experience as a university professor and senior administrator, Dr. Mary Papazian recently joined AGB as its Executive Vice President. She has served as interim CEO of the Business-Higher Education Forum and as the 30th president of San José State University (SJSU), Silicon Valley’s public university serving 38,000 students, which she guided through the Covid-19 pandemic. She also served as president of Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) in New Haven, CT, where she focused on institutional and digital transformation; partnerships; global, research and graduate education; and addressing barriers to educational equity. Under her leadership, SJSU was named the #1 most transformative university by Money magazine and received the Platinum award and the Best Achievement in Operational Excellence to deliver Digital Transformation award at the Business Transformation & Operational Excellence Industry Awards. 

Dr. Papazian previously served as Provost and Senior VP for Academic Affairs at Lehman College (CUNY), Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Montclair State University (NJ), and as Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences / professor of English at Oakland University (MI). 

Throughout her career, she served on national and regional volunteer boards, such as the Higher Education Resource Services (HERS), Business Higher Education Forum (BHEF), Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology (FAST), NCAA Board of Governors and Division I Presidents’ Council, Association of Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU), Urban Serving Universities (USU), Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), Bay Area Council, Silicon Valley Leadership Group and Joint Venture Silicon Valley. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Haigazian University in Beirut, Lebanon.

A scholar of Early Modern British Literature, Dr. Papazian holds B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees from the UCLA. She is a Board Certified Candidate with certification in ESG, advisor to early stage start-ups, and sought after speaker on topics such as the talent pipeline, digital transformation, GenZ, and the importance of the liberal arts in a digital economy.