Dr. Mary B. Marcy joined Dominican University of California in July 2011 from Bard College. She served as Provost of Bard College at Simon’s Rock and Vice President at Bard College since 2004. As the chief operating officer of Simon’s Rock, she was responsible for all aspects of the academic and financial health of the college, as well as the college’s relationship with its Board of Overseers.

Under her leadership, Bard College at Simon’s Rock focused on a set of strategic initiatives which included strengthening the academic core, diversifying the campus community, defining excellence in early college liberal arts education, realizing success in fund-raising, and growing an increasing selectivity in student enrollment.

During her tenure, the college’s endowment realized dramatic growth, largely due to success in securing dedicated gifts to support student scholarships and faculty development. Marcy developed signature programs with the University of Oxford, Columbia University, the University of Manchester, and the Bard Globalization and International Affairs program, while expanding international options for students.

In recent years the student body at Bard College at Simon's Rock grew to campus capacity, while under-represented students composed thirty percent of the student population in 2011. Under Marcy’s leadership, the college experienced considerable success in seeking major grant funding, and enjoyed an increasingly visible presence in media outlets and in higher education. This work has strengthened the academic core while placing Bard College at Simon’s Rock at the forefront of excellence in early college liberal arts education.

Prior to her role at Bard College, Marcy worked in both public and private institutions of higher education. Her experience includes leadership of a national grant-funded Project on the Future of Higher Education through Antioch University, work as the first Dean of University Relations and Planning at Antioch University Seattle, and serving as the lead researcher and policy advisor to the President of Western Washington University.

Marcy serves on the editorial board of Liberal Education, on the national higher education advisory board for the National Center on Education and the Economy, and was appointed by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick to serve as a commissioner on the Commonwealth’s Public Education Nominating Council.

Marcy is a political scientist with a Doctorate of Philosophy and Master of Philosophy from the University of Oxford. She conducts ongoing research on women in American politics, and has also published extensively on issues of diversity, leadership, and strategy in higher education. She was born and raised in western Nebraska, and received her Bachelor of Arts with honors from the University of Nebraska.

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