NJIT Names New Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs
New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) has announced the appointment of Dr. Kannan Mohan as its new Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs (SVPAA) following a national search. Mohan joins NJIT on August 1, 2026, coming from Baruch College of the City University of New York, where he has served as Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Innovation at the Zicklin School of Business.
Reporting to NJIT’s Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, the SVPAA is a key advocate for student success and provides academic leadership that ensures programs, support services, and university policies are intentionally designed to enhance the student experience and align with the university’s strategic plan. Mohan will be NJIT’s lead architect of student-centered academic practice, helping shape and execute an integrated academic vision aligned with institutional goals. In this role, Mohan’s portfolio of responsibilities will include the Office of Graduate Studies, the Office of Undergraduate Studies, the NJIT Library, the Office of Global Initiatives, and the Center for Educational Innovation and Excellence.
“I am thrilled to join NJIT as its senior vice provost for academic affairs,” Mohan said. “NJIT’s mission and deep commitment to students resonate strongly with me, and I’m honored to contribute to an institution that stands out as a leading public polytechnic university and a vibrant research enterprise. I’m especially energized by NJIT’s innovation-driven, student-centered approach, and I look forward to supporting the community’s focus on student success.”
At Baruch for the last 20 years, Mohan has compiled a record of distinctive service as both a faculty member and as an administrator. He served as the college’s interim director of the Center for Teaching and Learning before becoming Executive Director of Undergraduate Programs and then spending the last six years as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Innovation at the Zicklin School of Business. In that role, he has overseen graduate programs, undergraduate programs, accreditation and curriculum management, graduate admissions, global programs and partnerships, and the Zicklin undergraduate honors program, among other responsibilities. During his tenure, he has co-led the cross-college committee on AI curriculum development; launched four new fully online programs, six new stackable, credit-bearing advanced certificate programs; redesigned the MBA program; increased undergraduate, graduate, and online enrollment; and expanded global dual-degree partnerships.
“We are very pleased to welcome Kannan Mohan to NJIT,” said Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. John A. Pelesko. “He emerged from an extremely competitive pool of applicants based on his record of accomplishment, academic innovation, and measurable results. We look forward to Kannan joining our team in this critically important role.”