Dr. Mary A. Papazian, who currently serves as the Executive Vice President at the Association of Governing Boards for Universities and Colleges, is a seasoned higher education leader with over 35 years of experience as a university professor and senior administrator. She recently served as interim CEO of the Business Higher Education Forum and as principal consultant at Arshag Consulting, a firm she founded after a 35-year career in higher education, to advise start-up companies, business, and higher education institutions on governance, strategy, executive leadership, the talent pipeline, digital transformation, GenZ, ESG, and the future of work and learning. 

Prior to her recent appointments, Dr. Papazian served as the 30th president of San José State University (SJSU), Silicon Valley’s public university serving 38,000 students, which she guided through the Covid-19 pandemic and other challenges facing the campus. She also was president of Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) in New Haven, CT, where she focused on institutional and digital transformation; partnerships; global, research and graduation education; and addressing barriers to educational equity. Under her leadership, SJSU was named the #1 most transformative university by Money magazine and received the Platinum award and the Best Achievement in Operational Excellence to deliver Digital Transformation award at the Business Transformation & Operational Excellence Industry Awards.  

Dr. Papazian previously served as Provost and Senior VP for Academic Affairs at Lehman College (CUNY), Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Montclair State University (NJ), and as Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences / professor of English at Oakland University (MI).  

Throughout her career, she has held positions on national and regional volunteer boards, such as the Higher Education Resource Services (HERS), Business Higher Education Forum (BHEF), NCAA Board of Governors and Division I Presidents’ Council, Association of Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU), Urban Serving Universities (USU), Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), Bay Area Council, Silicon Valley Leadership Group and Joint Venture Silicon Valley. She currently serves as a trustee for Haigazian University (Beirut, Lebanon) and on the boards of the Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology (FAST), GlobalMindED, the National Association of Armenian Research and Scholarship (NAASR), and the Armenian Society of Fellows (ASOF). 

A Renaissance Literature scholar, Dr. Papazian holds B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees from UCLA. She is a Board-Certified Candidate with certification in ESG, an advisor to early-stage start-ups, and a sought after speaker.

Find Dr Papazian on LinkedIn