Darren Reisberg became Hartwick College’s 11th president in August 2022. A recognized authority in public policy and strategic organization, Reisberg is an accomplished leader with two decades of encouraging equity and innovation in higher education and K-12.

Previously, he was the vice president for strategic initiatives and deputy provost at the University of Chicago, where he managed the Office of the Provost’s operations, administered the faculty governance system, and drove strategic planning and fundraising efforts. He coordinated the university’s K-12 education initiatives, including the Urban Education Institute.

In other roles at the University of Chicago, President Reisberg served as the vice president and secretary of the university. He also was the first executive director of the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics, which is committed to fostering in students a passion for public service, meaningful dialogue and active engagement in our democracy.

From 2019 to 2022, Reisberg served as the governor-appointed chair of the Illinois State Board of Education, which oversees K-12 policy for over 850 school districts.

Reisberg’s broad array of other civic leadership and involvement includes service as chair of the Illinois Governor’s Affirming and Inclusive Schools Task Force, member of the Illinois Holocaust and Genocide Commission, and director on the boards of the University of Chicago Charter School, the Center on Halsted, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community center in Chicago, and the Seminary Co-op Bookstore.

Born in New York and raised in Northern New Jersey, Reisberg received a B.A. in political science from Duke University and a J.D. degree from Yale Law School. He and husband, John Hilliard, have three dogs—Bowie, Skylar and Cornelia.