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Sunita Gupta Kramer named dean of TCNJ School of Science

Sunita Kramer
Photo by John O’Boyle

The College of New Jersey announced today that, following a national search, Sunita Gupta Kramer has been named dean of the School of Science, effective July 1, 2022.

Kramer comes to TCNJ from Rutgers University where she served 12 years as faculty before taking on progressive leadership roles. She currently serves as the university’s inaugural associate vice president for research and experiential education, in which she coordinates and develops avenues for student research, innovation, experiential learning, and external partnerships.

Additionally, Kramer is the creator and current director of Rutgers’ Innovation, Design, & Entrepreneurship Academy; IDEA is a four-year program integrating research, design, and entrepreneurial thinking into the undergraduate experience. She is also a core faculty member of the Rutgers Global Health Institute where she developed a new dual BA/MD program in global health and helped create clinical experiences for students dedicated to improving healthcare for incarcerated and recently released individuals. 

“Coming to TCNJ is a dream come true,” Kramer said. “All my foundations as a student come from attending a residential liberal arts college. I later bridged to public research universities where my focus has been to leverage faculty research to foster student-centered learning. TCNJ has the best experiences of both. What a great tradition to build on.”

Previously, Kramer served as assistant vice provost and was the founding associate academic dean of the Honors College at Rutgers-New Brunswick, a unique living-learning community focused on tackling 21st century challenges through interdisciplinary team-based projects and collaborations. Beyond her leadership at the Honors College, Kramer has developed and led design thinking workshops and recently contributed to teaching a course on Music and the Brain

“I am thrilled to welcome Dr. Sunita Kramer as the new dean of the School of Science,” said Jeffrey Osborn, provost and vice president for academic affairs. “She is passionate about science education and a college culture where learners and educators can thrive as student-scholars and teacher-scholars. Her extensive experience in connecting disciplines, creating new programs, cultivating research development, and fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion are a great fit for the School of Science and TCNJ.”

Among her national positions, Kramer served for six years as a standing member of a key committee at the National Institutes of Health. The NIH–National Institute of General Medical Sciences’ Committee on Training, Workforce Development, and Diversity designs strategies to increase undergraduate and graduate sponsored research, especially in support of developing a diverse STEM workforce. She also served as the campus lead for Rutgers’ multi-disciplinary Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation program, funded by the National Science Foundation, which provides research experiences for students with the goal of increasing the number of baccalaureate and graduate degrees awarded to populations underrepresented in STEM disciplines.

“The world increasingly depends on sciences that are informed by innovation and input from all fields of knowledge to solve both contemporary and future problems,” Kramer said. “I look forward to not only advancing the School of Science but also working with the other school deans and senior leadership to build more cross-disciplinary programs and partnerships.” 

Prior to her leadership roles, Kramer served on the faculty at Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, where she taught and mentored undergraduate, graduate, and medical students and led a research program funded by grants from the NIH, NSF, and American Heart Association. 

Kramer earned her BA in biology from Franklin & Marshall College (PA), her PhD in molecular and cellular biology from Stony Brook University (NY), and completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley where she studied cell guidance mechanisms during early embryonic development. 


 

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