Brooklyn College is pleased to announce that April Bedford, the former dean of the college’s School of Education for eight years, has been appointed interim provost beginning on August 15. The college also has named Natalie Coombs as Interim assistant vice president of Enrollment Management for Recruitment. “These additions to our administrative team bring a wealth of experience in their fields, as well as a familiarity with the campus that will ensure continued growth and success,” said Brooklyn College President Michelle J. Anderson. “I am looking forward to collaborating with them more as we look to strengthen our academic offerings and support new and continuing students.” April Bedford Bedford was the president of the NY Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, co-chaired a statewide working group on clinical practice for the NYS Education Commissioner, worked as a principal investigator for the Teacher Opportunity Corps, and launched the NYC Men Teach program at the college, resulting in more teachers of color, particularly more male teachers of color in our city and state. Before coming to Brooklyn College, Bedford served for 10 years on the faculty at the University of New Orleans where she was elected to the Faculty Senate and chaired the Department of Curriculum Instruction. As senior associate provost for Academic Programs and Services over the past year, Bedford has supervised our student support and opportunity programs. She especially enjoyed working with 19 faculty members across all five schools to develop the new first-year seminars that will launch this fall. Natalie Coombs Reporting directly to Vice President Lillian O’Reilly, Coombs will supervise undergraduate and graduate admissions and recruitment efforts across the college. Coombs joined Brooklyn College in 2003 as a graduate student in our Guidance and Counseling program and a college assistant in Institutional Research where she worked as a data analyst. Five years later, she moved to Enrollment Management as Manager of the Enrollment Services Center (ESC). Most recently, she served as executive director of Enrollment Services, where she was responsible for the Office of the Registrar, Transfer Evaluations, Testing, and the ESC. Under her leadership, the team streamlined and improved many processes to improve student experiences and outcomes. A proud Brooklyn College alumna with a doctorate in education with a concentration in higher education administration as a first-generation college graduate, Coombs is passionate about social mobility, diversity, and student opportunities for personal and professional growth.
