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Lehman College Names Azadeh Keivani Dean of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies
June 24, 2026
Lehman College has named Azadeh Keivani dean of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies (SCPS). With work spanning NASA-funded research; a faculty role at Columbia University; science mentorship at the American Museum of Natural History; technical leadership in data science and AI at Deloitte; and founding the nonprofit Digital Age Academy, she brings to the position a rare combination of scientific training, academic leadership, and industry experience. She begins her new role July 1.
As dean, Keivani will lead SCPS’s academic and workforce programs, continuing education offerings, certificate programs, and the Adult Degree Program. She will also guide the School’s operations, focusing on strengthening academic quality, expanding partnerships with employers and community organizations, and enhancing pathways from education to employment in high-demand fields.
Keivani has built a career focused on expanding access to education and economic opportunities. She earned her Ph.D. in physics from Louisiana State University and completed postdoctoral research at Pennsylvania State University before joining Columbia University, where she developed curricula and mentored students in the sciences. She has also taught at Barnard College and served as a mentor at the American Museum of Natural History.
Keivani is the founder of Digital Age Academy Inc., a nonprofit organization that equips Bronx youth with AI and entrepreneurship skills. She also recently produced Citizen Science: A Symphony of Human Power, a docuseries that demonstrates how communities can use public data to advocate for local change.
In addition to her academic and nonprofit work, Keivani has led artificial intelligence and machine learning initiatives at Deloitte and held technology and data science roles at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospital. In 2023, she received the American Physical Society's Career Lectureship Award for her work translating scientific research into educational and societal impact.
"Joining Lehman College is incredibly meaningful to me because it is the true convergence of my life's work and deepest passions," said Keivani. "My role is to amplify [SCPS's] impact: to deepen our local partnerships, forge new pathways to economic opportunity, and infuse a human-centered AI fluency across our teaching, learning design, and daily operations."
Keivani envisions SCPS as a model of AI-integrated continuing education that integrates technical expertise with skills such as critical thinking, empathy, and civic responsibility—all requirements for success in a rapidly changing society.