Dean of Institutional Effectiveness
Office Location: Administration Building, Room A-504A
Office Phone: 718-281-5257
Email: reem.jaafar@qcc.cuny.edu
Reem Jaafar, Ph.D., serves as Dean of Institutional Effectiveness at Queensborough Community College (QCC), a role she assumed in January 2026. In this capacity, she oversees institutional effectiveness, accreditation, program assessment, general education curriculum review, and strategic planning. She previously held a tenured faculty position as Professor of Mathematics at LaGuardia Community College from 2010 to 2025.
With more than 15 years of experience guiding strategic initiatives and championing equity reforms, Dr. Jaafar has led strategic plans and Middle States self-studies while cultivating cultures of access and innovation. Her approach leverages data and community engagement to drive organizational change, and she has secured millions in grant funding to diversify STEM student support and faculty development. She has also served as a peer evaluator for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE).
In 2024, she received an NSF award as part of the inaugural Innovation in Two-Year Colleges (ITYC) program for project EQUINOX, which scales equity-minded, data-informed instructional practices across introductory STEM courses using the Shared Equity Leadership (SEL) framework. The project aims to increase participation and completion of STEM degrees for historically underrepresented students. Dr. Jaafar previously served as Co-Director of the Shared Equity Leadership project at LaGuardia and as Director of Evaluation for the Queens STEM Academy (2022–2024).
Dr. Jaafar's scholarship spans science, teaching and learning, leadership, and equitable assessment. Her peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and conference proceedings focus on STEM education, equity in higher education, and innovative teaching methodologies. She regularly leads professional development initiatives in data coaching and presents at national conferences as both a speaker and panelist.
Beyond her STEM credentials, Dr. Jaafar holds advanced certificates in project management and in Disability Services in Higher Education from the CUNY School of Professional Studies. She serves as Chair-Elect of the ACE NJ Women's Network and on the Board of Directors of the Association for the Assessment of Learning in Higher Education (AALHE). In 2025, she was selected as one of six HERS–Luce STEM Fellows, a program focused on women's leadership in STEM higher education, and she serves as faculty-in-residence for the HERS Leadership Institute (2026) and as a mentor for the AAC&U Project Kaleidoscope STEM Leadership Institute.
Her contributions have been recognized with several honors, including New York State Assemblymember Cathy Nolan's Exceptional Woman Award (2022) and the CUNY Research Award in Education and Workforce Development for FY25, where she was one of ten awardees selected system-wide.
