Keena Lipsitz Named CUNY Center for Urban Research Director
Photo credit: Alex Irklievski
CUNY Graduate Center political science professor Keena Lipsitz has been named director of the Center for Urban Research, succeeding founding director John Mollenkopf. Lipsitz, who also teaches at Queens College, studies elections and political campai
CUNY political science professor Keena Lipsitz has been appointed director of the Graduate Center's Center for Urban Research, succeeding longtime leader John Mollenkopf following his retirement. The center has spent more than three decades examining New York City's economic conditions, political landscape and social challenges through research and data analysis. Lipsitz, who also teaches at Queens College, specializes in elections and political campaigns. Her appointment marks a leadership transition at an academic research institution whose work contributes to understanding urban government and public policy. Lipsitz previously collaborated with Mollenkopf and plans to continue the center's longstanding research mission under her leadership.
Political Scientist Named Director of the Graduate Center’s Center for Urban Research
Keena Lipsitz will lead a center known for its innovative studies of New York City politics and social issues.
Professor Keena Lipsitz (GC/Queens College, Political Science) has been named director of the CUNY Graduate Center’s Center for Urban Research, which has produced studies and data on economic, social, and political issues in New York City for more than 30 years.
Lipsitz, whose research focuses on elections and political campaigns, succeeds founding director, Distinguished Professor Emeritus John Mollenkopf (Political Science, Sociology, International Migration Studies, Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences), following his retirement.
“John Mollenkopf used New York City as a laboratory for understanding urban politics and public policy — work that has shaped how a generation of scholars think about cities,” Lipsitz said. “I've been fortunate to see that influence firsthand as a co-teacher and collaborator, and I am excited to build on his legacy and continue carrying out the Center for Urban Research’s mission at this critical time for New York.”
Lipsitz is the author of Competitive Elections and the American Voter and co-author of Campaigns and Electionsand Democracy at Risk: How Political Choices Undermine Participation and What We Can Do About It. She has written numerous journal articles in the areas of political communication, political behavior, and democratic theory, as well as opinion pieces for The New York Times and The Washington Post.
She and Mollenkopf recently co-authored a study on voter sentiment in the run-up to New York City’s 2025 mayoral election.
As director of the Center for Urban Research, Lipsitz will oversee the center’s three research units: the CUNY Mapping Service, which uses spatial analysis, mapping, and data visualization to track and report on population and political trends; the CUNY Data Service, an affiliate of the New York State Data Center, which provides customized analyses from the U.S. Census Bureau data; and the New York City Labor Information Service, a labor market research and consulting nonprofit.
The center’s three units have attracted substantial grant funding for their research and consulting services and have compiled extensive data on New York City demographics and population trends.
Lipsitz sees an opportunity to use the center’s data to produce new research, including working papers that can be shared with the media and the public. She intends to involve Graduate Center students in analyzing the data and writing papers on New York City’s social and political trends.
“I see tremendous opportunity for the Center for Urban Research to support the Graduate Center’s twin priorities of conducting research that addresses pressing political and societal issues, particularly in New York City, and readying first-rate scholars for careers in which they can make a difference through research,” Lipsitz said.
The Center for Urban Research is one of more than 30 research centers and institutes based at the Graduate Center. These largely independently funded centers conduct and promote research and organize public programs that advance public knowledge and well-being.
Source: CUNY Graduate Center
