Yolanda Theresa Moses (born 1946) is ananthropologist and college administrator who served as the 10th president ofCity College of New York (1993–1999) and president of the American Association for Higher Education (2000–2003).^[1]

Moses was born to a family originating from northernLouisiana that relocated toWashington during theSecond World War to work in wartime industries. After the war, Moses and her family moved to southern California. Moses received herassociate degree in 1966, andbachelor's degree insociology in 1968, both fromSan Bernardino Valley College. Inspired by a meeting withMargaret Mead, Moses chose to pursue anthropology for adoctorate degree, which she received in 1976, from theUniversity of California, Riverside.^[2] As a student, Moses participated actively in theCivil Rights Movement through theStudent Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).^[3]

From 1976 to 1993, Moses taught at the collegiate level and conducted research atCalifornia State Polytechnic University,Pomona College, andCalifornia State University Dominguez Hills. AtCalifornia State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Moses combined theWomen's studies andEthnic studies programs into a single interdisciplinary Department of Ethnic and Women's Studies. From 1982 to 1989, Moses served as the dean of the Cal State Polytec's College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences (CLASS). In 1988, Moses was appointed to the position of vice president of academic affairs atCalifornia State University, Dominguez Hills.

In 1993, Moses relocated toNew York City where she was appointed to the position of the 10th president ofCity College of New York of theCity University of New York (CUNY). She was the first woman to lead City College,CUNY's flagship campus. She has served as president of theAmerican Anthropological Association (AAA) (1995–97).

Moses has held a senior visiting research appointment atGeorge Washington University in Washington D.C. (2000 to 2004).She co-authored with Carol Mukhopadhyay and Rosemary Henze, the book How Real is Race: a sourcebook on race, culture and biology.(2007, 2014).^[4] Since 2007, Moses had held the position of professor in the department of anthropology at theUniversity of California, Riverside and Special Assistant to the Chancellor for Excellence and Diversity.^[5] In 2014, she was also a visiting professor at theUniversity of Melbourne's Intercultural and Indigenous Studies Program.

Moses' academic research is supported grants from theFord Foundation, theNational Science Foundation, and theNational Endowment for the Humanities, for original research, including the Race: are we so different project (2007–2015).^[6]

Moses has received The National Donna Shavlik Award for Leadership and Mentoring Women (2007) (ACE). She is a member of the college of fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2009), and a recipient of the Distinguished Research Lecturer Award from UC, Riverside (2015). Moses also received The Franz Boas Award for Distinguished Service to the Field of Anthropology (AAA) as Public Intellectual (2015), and The Dyason Fellowship to Support Collaborative Research and Innovation from theUniversity of Melbourne (2016).^[7]

On May 24, 1993, Moses was selected as the 9th president of City College of New York. At the time, comparisons were made betweenCity College of New York and Dominguez Hills; both were considered inner-city public colleges with large minority and older student bodies. The only CUNY trustee to oppose her appointment wasHerman Badillo, who later became the Chair of the CUNY trustees. During Moses tenure, City College continued to report high number of students failing placement tests and teacher certification exams. At the same time, Moses oversaw the renovation of six historic campus buildings, raised admissions standards, and introduced a doctoral program inbiomedical engineering.

Moses resigned as president of CCNY under pressure from theCity University of New York trustees on July 2, 1999.^[8] An article in theNew York Amsterdam News reported allegations of Moses' negative job ratings, including a failure to establish rapport with College deans, and the reported involvement ofNew York City MayorRudolph Giuliani in her departure.^[9]

Following her resignation, Moses served as President of the American Association for Higher Education from 2000 through 2003. She currently serves as Professor of Anthropology and the Associate Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Excellence at the University of California, Riverside.^[10]

• University of California-Riverside Department of Anthropology faculty profile

• American anthropologists
• 1946 births
• Living people
• 21st-century African-American academics
• 21st-century American academics
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• California State Polytechnic University, Pomona faculty
• University of California, Riverside faculty
• Presidents of City College of New York
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• 20th-century American scientists
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• 20th-century African-American women
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• 21st-century American women academics

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