CUNY Academic Commons

AVP/Associate Provost

Dr. Gladys Palma de Schrynemakers joins Medgar Evers College in November as the new Assistant Vice President/Associate Provost. Dr. Schrynemakers earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Saint John’s University; three masters’ degrees from City College, Long Island University, and Teacher’s College Columbia University; and a doctorate from Teachers College Columbia University. In her previous position at Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus, Dr. Schrynemakers served as Associate Provost, Executive Director of Campus Effectiveness and Academic Support, and Director of the LIU Promise. She also directed the student life and academic outcomes assessment efforts and developed and led the LIU Promise Initiative, a comprehensive approach to undergraduate mentoring using intrusive advisement protocols to improve retention for first-time freshmen by 6%. Additional responsibilities included the development of a campus grants’ agenda and writing institutional grants. Dr. Schrynemakers directed the Collegiate Science Technology Program (CSTEP), which prepares undergraduate minority and economically disadvantaged students to enter the STEM fields. She also was the PI for the Science Technology Entry Program (STEP) that prepares high school students for entry into STEM majors in college. Formerly, she was Principal Investigator (P.I.) for the Predominantly Black Institutions (PBI) Undergraduate STEM Grant, which successfully increased undergraduate minority retention in gateway Biology, Chemistry, and Mathematics classes by 90%. She was the P.I. for the New York State’s Smart Scholars Early College High School and Gear UP grants. Both programs are designed to prepare minority and economically disadvantaged students to succeed in middle and high school with the goal of college completion. Dr. Schrynemakers chaired the statewide Smart Scholars assessment sub-committee and chaired the annual Teaching Narrative Conference at the Brooklyn Campus, an event that focuses on teaching narratives as a form of inquiry about student learning. Additionally, she chaired the Annual Outcomes Assessment Day that features best practices in curricular and co-curricular learning. She has served on several Accreditation Teams for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and as a Periodic Reviewer for the Commission, as well as serving on Accreditation Teams for the New York State Department of Education. Serving her third three-year term as the Executive Vice President of APACS, Association of Administrators of CSTEP and STEP, she works closely with over 200 CSTEP/STEP directors and program staff to create a statewide professional development network. She chaired the annual APACS Conference and Meeting, as well as Co-Chairs the Annual CSTEP Statewide Student Conference. Dr. Schrynemakers taught in the University Honors Program, Anthropology/Sociology Department, secured over 15 million dollars in grants, and published frequently in peer-reviewed venues on theory and practice of constructing theory, teaching and technology, and assessment.