Senior Administrator

Dr. Mary A. Papazian

Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

Mary A. Papazian
Mary A. Papazian, a distinguished educator and scholar in English literature, began serving as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Lehman College in July 2007. Prior to joining the Lehman College senior administrative team, Dr. Papazian served as Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and Professor of English at Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey, a position she held since August 2004.

As Dean, Dr. Papazian oversaw numerous initiatives, including the transfer of the doctoral program in Audiology from Seton Hall University to Montclair State, the development of the Center for Writing Excellence, strengthening of the partnership between the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the College of Education, elevation of the Justice Studies program to department status, development of degree programs in Child Advocacy and Asian Studies, initial development of programs in Jewish Studies, Community Health Systems and Policy, Arabic, and American Studies, review of foreign language teaching at the University, and development of a university Undergraduate Research Conference in partnership with Montclair's College of Science and Mathematics.

Prior to her work at Montclair State, Dr. Papazian served for five years as Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Oakland University in Rochester, MI, where she had been employed as a faculty member in the Department of English since 1988. From August 2003 through January 2004, concurrent to her tenure as Associate Dean, she also served as the Executive Director of the Oakland University Department of Music, Theater, and Dance.

Dr. Papazian's scholarly work focuses on the 17th Century English poet and clergyman, John Donne. She has published numerous articles and book reviews and has participated in dozens of conferences on Donne and his Renaissance contemporaries. Her essay on Donne's Devotions won the 1991 John Donne Society Award for Distinguished Publication on Donne. Dr. Papazian's book, John Donne and the Protestant Reformation: New Perspectives, was published by Wayne State University Press in August 2003. A second book, Shared Space: Reconsidering the Sacred and Profane in English Renaissance Literature, has been accepted for publication by the University of Delaware Press. She served the John Donne Society as Secretary/Treasurer from 1990-2005 and is the society's immediate Past President.

Dr. Papazian received her graduate and undergraduate education at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she received her B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in English Literature. Upon graduation summa cum laude from UCLA with her B.A. in English, she was elected a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She lives in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey with her husband Dr. Dennis R. Papazian, a long-time Professor of History and Founding Director of the Armenian Research Center at the University of Michigan, Dearborn, and their two daughters, Ani and Marie.

Last reviewed on: 4/23/2009