Hofstra University Selects New Provost

UNIONDALE, NY — Hofstra University today announced the appointment of Dr. Charles Riordan as the school's next provost and senior vice president for academic affairs.

Rirodan is currently the vice president for research, scholarship and innovation at the University of Delaware.

“I am delighted to welcome Charlie Riordan to Hofstra University. During a distinguished career at the University of Delaware, Charlie Riordan has been a teacher-scholar, an academic leader, a visionary and a builder, and he has a record of creating partnerships between the academy, business and government,” said Hofstra President Susan Poser. “I am thrilled to have someone with Dr. Riordan’s depth of experience and knowledge in research, academics, and student success as a partner in building Hofstra’s future.”

During his time at the University of Delaware, Riordan has grown the school's research and the grants it has received. Classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a very high research activity institution, UD has ranked among the top 100 universities in terms of federal R&D support for science and engineering under Riordan’s leadership.

“Hofstra is a dynamic institution with talented faculty and a vibrant, diverse student body, and I am honored to join this great community as its next provost," said Riordan. "As President Poser brings renewed energy and focus to advance excellence across the university, I look forward to collaborating with her, the academic leaders, faculty and staff to refine and enhance the Hofstra student experience.”

A member of the UD faculty since 1997, Riordan served as chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry from 2002-07 and was vice provost for graduate and professional education from 2010-13. During his tenure as chair, enrollments grew by more than 20 percent and bachelor’s degrees awarded rose by 34 percent. He received the university’s outstanding doctoral graduate advising and mentoring award in 2008.

Riordan is an internationally known chemist whose research has been supported primarily by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. He is the recipient of a 1994 National Science Foundation Young Investigator Award. An elected fellow of both the Royal Society of Chemistry and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, he received the 2013 American Chemical Society Delaware Section Award for his scholarly research.

Riordan earned his bachelor’s degree at the College of Holy Cross, his Ph.D. at Texas A&M University and was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Chicago. He was selected during a national search, with a committee representing trustees, faculty, administrators and students. He will join Hofstra University on July 1, 2022.