Zuckerman Institute Appoints Executive Director

The Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute has named David M. Greenberg as its first executive director. The Zuckerman Institute was established in 2012 with a $200 million gift from New York philanthropist and business leader Mortimer B. Zuckerman. The Institute will bring together 1,000 scientists at the Jerome L. Greene Science Center, the first building of the Manhattanville campus.

By
Columbia University News Team
February 13, 2014

“The breadth and depth of pioneering academic leadership being assembled at the Zuckerman Institute is truly astonishing,” said Greenberg. “Virtually every issue I’ll be dealing with as the Institute’s first executive director will influence how quickly we are able to realize the promise of this initiative for the University and for society at large. I could not be more excited by the opportunity to contribute to such a meaningful effort.”

Tom Jessell, one of its co-directors, welcomed Greenberg to the Institute. “The Zuckerman Institute is in the process of implementing many complex operational and administrative plans,” said Jessell. “We are moving now into a phase in our development requiring that our academic vision be supported and matched by David’s highlevel administrative expertise.”

Greenberg, formerly vice president and chief administrative officer of finance and administration at Columbia Facilities, has worked at the University since 2006. “David’s experience and personal attributes make him unusually well equipped to meet this challenge,” said Jessell. “We are indeed fortunate to have someone with an intimate knowledge of Columbia in this leadership role so people like me can get back to our labs and pursue the research that’s our own mission.” Greenberg will work closely with Jessell, his co-directors Richard Axel and Eric Kandel, and Charles Zuker, professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics and of neuroscience, who together are responsible for setting the Institute’s scientific vision and mission.

Before coming to Columbia, Greenberg worked as associate vice president and chief financial officer at the Georgetown University Law Center and served in several senior posts in New York City government, including the Department of Citywide Administrative Services and the Office of Management and Budget. At Columbia Facilities, Greenberg was responsible for the planning and administration of an operating budget of over $260 million and a capital budget of more than $300 million. At the Zuckerman Institute he will create and manage its administrative infrastructure, which includes overseeing finances, human resources, information technology, construction and facilities as well as space needs.

Greenberg earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Rochester, and his master’s of public administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. The Zuckerman Institute will form the hub of a scholarly network stretching across the University and all disciplines—including the arts and sciences, engineering, economics, law and medicine. As Columbia President Lee C. Bollinger put it, “The Zuckerman Institute creates opportunities for linkages among virtually all disciplines across the University since, at a profound level, we all study how the mind works.”