Christine M. Riordan, Ph.D
President
Adelphi University
Christine M. Riordan was appointed in 2015 as the 10th president of Adelphi, and the first woman to hold the role in the university’s 127-year history. Riordan is an established expert in leadership, team building, career success, and diversity, equity and inclusion. She is also a seasoned and respected board member in the corporate and nonprofit sectors.
Riordan’s vision has transformed Adelphi into a nationally recognized modern metropolitan university. She spearheaded the development of the university’s strategic plan for 2022–2027, Momentum 2, with increasingly innovative goals and thoughtful input from more than 1,400 students, alumni, faculty and staff. Under her leadership, the university community has grown more diverse than ever and launched more than 50 innovative new academic degree programs.
For the fifth year in a row, U.S. News & World Report has named Adelphi a Best College among national universities and a Top Performer on Social Mobility. In 2022, Adelphi received the INSIGHT Into Diversity Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award for the fifth consecutive year.
Riordan is a respected and experienced board member. For more than eight years, she has served on the board of directors of RE/MAX Holdings, Inc.—a leading real estate and franchise company—for which she is currently chair of the nominating and governance committee. She also serves on the group’s compensation committee. She previously served as chair of the board and a member of the executive committee for the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities in New York, the association for the more than 100 private colleges and universities in the state. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she co-chaired the Higher Education Restart Task Force to develop reopening guidance for more than 230 New York higher education institutions.
Riordan is a trustee, serves on the steering committee, and is vice chair of the Long Island Regional Advisory Council on Higher Education board. She is a member of the Long Island Association board of directors, the National Association of Corporate Directors Board Leadership Fellow, and the Gold Standard Director Credential.
Riordan has published 70 academic and business press articles and is authoring a book titled “Shift Happens: How to Adapt and Thrive in a Rapidly Changing World of Work.” Her work can be viewed at christineriordan.com. Her honors include the Council for Advancement and Support of Education Chief Executive Leadership Award in 2021 and the ATHENA International Leadership Award in 2020. In 2019, Georgia State University honored her as a Distinguished Alumna. Diverse: Issues in Higher Education magazine named her one of the 25 Top Women in Higher Education Who Are Making a Difference in 2018.
Riordan received her master’s and a doctoral degree in Organizational Behavior from Georgia State University. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Textile Engineering (now called Materials Science Engineering) from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
This profile is part of LIBN’s Influencers: 60 Most Influential Long Islanders of 2023 list. Information used in this profile was sourced from the honoree.
LIBN Staff
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