Dr. Nicola Blake is an accomplished leader with over 23 years of experience in instruction, academic administration, and institutional advancement at both four-year and community colleges. Notably, she played a pivotal role in launching and building Guttman, New York’s first new community college in over four decades. In this groundbreaking position, Nicola led collaborative efforts to establish a student-centered and equity-driven environment, significantly improving retention and graduation rates by removing barriers to completion.

Currently overseeing the transformation of the academic landscape at Guttman, Nicola is dedicated to enhancing the college’s influence and expanding its reach in alignment with the overarching mission of the City University of New York. Central to her strategic approach is a commitment to fostering innovative thinking and cross-divisional collaboration.

Nicola’s multifaceted leadership extends to overseeing the academic departments, the Career Innovation Hub, Center for Career Preparation, assessment, academic technology, workload and scheduling, faculty development and mentorship, as well as the Library and the digital Center for Practice, Technology, and Innovation. Her role also includes fundraising and external partnership development in Academic Affairs, securing multimillion gifts and grants to introduce new academic programs and support services aligned with labor market needs.

In addition to her administrative responsibilities, Nicola is a full-time faculty member in Guttman’s English department, maintaining a vital connection to the classroom experience. This dual perspective fuels her dedication to faculty mentorship, institutional excellence, and community-responsive education.

Internationally recognized for her expertise in curriculum and program development, Nicola participated in the US Fulbright Specialist Program from 2015 to 2020 and serves as an accreditor for the New York State Education Department and the New England Commission on Higher Education.

Nicola’s achievements include being a recipient of the American Council on Education (ACE) Fellowship for 2016-2017, an alumna of the Higher Education Leadership Programs for Women (HERS), the Harvard Institute for Higher Education, and the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Future Presidents Institute. In 2023, she was named to the prestigious Complete College America Fellowship Program.

Nicola has a B.A. with honors in English and psychology from the City College of New York, CUNY, and a Ph.D. in medieval literature from Rutgers University. An accomplished author, she has contributed multiple articles in her field and the scholarship of teaching and learning. Nicola also finds joy in expanding representation in children’s literature; she is the author of multiple children’s books.