Biography

Dr. Merryl H. Tisch

Merryl H. Tisch was appointed to the New York State Board of Regents on April 1, 1996 and reelected to five-year terms on April 1, 2001 and April 1, 2006. She was elected Vice Chancellor by her colleagues effective April 1, 2007 and was elected Chancellor by her colleagues effective April 1, 2009.  In addition to leading the board as Chancellor, she co-chairs the Board of Regents Committee on Elementary, Middle, Secondary and Continuing Education.

As Chancellor, Dr. Tisch is leading a redesign of the State Education Department so that the Department can better support local innovation in New York’s highest performing school districts and engage more deeply with districts that are struggling and in need of additional support

As a member of the Board and as Chancellor, she has worked to raise state standards and instill greater accountability for local school districts.  A firm believer in a data-driven approach that seeks to constantly identify and advance policies and best practices, Chancellor Tisch is leading the Board’s efforts to reform and expand the State Education Department’s data system to make it easier to use, faster and more complete – extending from pre-kindergarten through college.

Chancellor Tisch has also extended the call for greater accountability and higher standards to New York’s two year colleges – pursuing policies to ensure that all graduates are prepared to succeed in the workplace or to achieve at a four year college or university.

Since joining the Board, Chancellor Tisch has been a leading advocate for expanded alternate certification policies aimed at attracting the best and brightest from a range of disciplines into the teaching profession as well as policies that help incentivize retention of high performing teachers in schools with high proportions of black and Latino students, English Language Learners and students with disabilities.

In addition to her work on the Board of Regents, Chancellor Tisch is chairperson of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty. With an annual budget of $100 million, Met Council has gained national recognition for its work in the areas of youth and family services, housing, poverty programs, and neighborhood preservation. Previously, Chancellor Tisch served as chairperson of the Mt. Sinai Children’s Center Foundation.

Chancellor Tisch serves on the executive committees of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, the Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America, and the Citizens Budget Commission. Additionally, she serves on the board of The Trust for Cultural Resources of the City of New York. She was appointed to the Graduate School of Education's Board of Overseers at the University of Pennsylvania in 1998 and has been a board member of both Barnard College and the Dalton School.

From 1977 to 1984 Chancellor Tisch taught first-graders at New York City’s Ramaz School and the B’nai Jeshurun School. She received a B.A. from Barnard College, an M.A. in Education from New York University, and an Ed.D. from Teachers College, Columbia University.