Dario A. Cortes, Ph.D.
President, Berkeley College

Topics: Leadership and development in both non-profit and for-profit colleges and universities. Academic and business partnerships on local, national, and international levels. Expertise in enrollment management, student recruitment, and retention. Undergraduate and graduate curricula development along with instruction and integration of information technologies into the academic environment. Faculty recruitment and retention.

Background: From January 2006 until his appointment as Berkeley College President in July 2008, Dr. Cortes served as the President and Executive Director of The American School Foundation, A.C. (ASF), a university preparatory K-12 school, located in Mexico City. ASF is the oldest American school abroad.

Dr. Cortes also has served as the Vice President for Academic Affairs at Fashion Institute of Technology, the State University of New York. Other academic positions include Dean, University College: Arts, Sciences and Professional Studies, Fairleigh Dickinson University; and Associate Dean, Graduate Studies and Research at the University of Maryland at College Park. In addition, Dr. Cortes has had many senior administrative and faculty positions at Johns Hopkins University; North Carolina State University, and the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Dr. Cortes has received numerous teaching awards, fellowships and honors. He is an accomplished author, editor, lecturer, and conference leader.

Professional Affiliations: In Mexico City Dr. Cortes serves on the Educational Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce, and is a member of the Consejo Mexicano de Asuntos Internacionales (COMEXI). His prior board service includes the Executive Committee of the American Council on Education, Council of Fellows; Chairman of the Board of Zhejiang International Institute of Fashion Technology, Zhejiang, China; the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, NYC; Instituto Superior de Empresa y Moda, Madrid, Spain; American Conference of Academic Deans; and the Admissions Task Force for the College Board.

Degrees: Dr. Cortes earned a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; an M.A. from the University of Virginia; and a B.A. from City University of New York (CUNY) Queens College. He has completed post-graduate work at Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania, and in 2008 he was named a Klingenstein Fellow of Columbia University Teachers College.  

Media Contact: Please contact Ilene Greenfield Lumpkin, Berkeley College Director of Media Relations, 201-291-1111, ext. 5122, igl@BerkeleyCollege.edu.

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