Carmen Twillie Ambar named dean of Douglass Archived article from Sep 2, 2002 By Rochelle Runas   Carmen Twillie Ambar Carmen Twillie Ambar, a senior-level administrator at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and an accomplished attorney, has been named dean of Douglass College. Ambar becomes the ninth woman to lead the nation's largest public undergraduate women's college with some 3,000 students. A Little Rock, Ark., native, Ambar has been assistant dean for graduate education at the Woodrow Wilson School since 2000, overseeing the operation of its three graduate programs. In this position, she had responsibility for many key administrative and academic functions, including curriculum development, budget allocation, management of joint degree programs, supervision of the graduate registrar and staff, development and implementation of academic rules and regulations, and academic support and advising programs for students. In addition, she directed the school's summer program for undergraduate students of color, hiring staff and designing its programmatic aspects. "I am delighted to welcome Carmen Twillie Ambar to Rutgers," said President Francis L. Lawrence in announcing her appointment. "She has outstanding qualifications for the position of dean of Douglass College and brings great skill, experience and enthusiasm to the post. The fact that she was chosen from among a highly distinguished group of candidates attests to the respect Rutgers and Douglass College command in the academic community, and to the high level of interest in this position as well. "The appointment of such a vigorous and visionary leader for Douglass reflects our abiding commitment to the college and its mission, and to achieving new levels of excellence throughout our university," Lawrence added. As an attorney, Ambar served as assistant counsel in the Office of the Corporation Counsel for the City of New York, 1994–98, and participated in several high-profile cases. In the early 1990s, she served as a program assistant for Newark Fighting Back Inc., co-writing a successful $3-million proposal to develop a comprehensive approach to reducing the demand for illicit drugs and alcohol in the city. She also aided in the conceptualization and implementation of more than 75 programs, including drug treatment for women and children, and community policing. As an intern in the governor's office in her native Arkansas, she prepared memoranda on various issues for then-Gov. Bill Clinton. Ambar, who was selected from a pool of 53 applicants from around the country, succeeds Linda Stamato, who has served as acting dean since August 2001. Stamato assumed the temporary post after Barbara Shailor resigned to become director of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University. Joseph J. Seneca, university vice president for academic affairs, expressed appreciation for Stamato's work. "We are deeply grateful to Dean Stamato for ensuring continuity for Douglass during the search period and for her sustained and exceptional efforts in so many dimensions to enrich the educational experiences of women at Douglass College," he said. "We look forward to another dynamic period under the new leadership of Carmen Twillie Ambar. She is superbly qualified and dedicated to continuing the advancement of educational opportunities for women." Stamato will return to the Bloustein School, where she will continue as co-director of the Center for Negotiation and Conflict Resolution and as a professor of public policy. Ambar is a 1994 graduate of both the Columbia School of Law and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, where she received a master's in public affairs. She received a bachelor of science degree in foreign service in 1990 from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. She also studied at L'Institut de Science Politique in Paris and the Université de Caen in Caen, France, and was an exchange student in Kobe, Japan. She is a member of the New York State Bar Association and the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. "I am delighted to be joining the Rutgers community as dean of Douglass College," Ambar said. "It is a tremendous opportunity to have a role in developing young women leaders. This is an important and exciting time to study, work and be involved in women's education, and the national need for women's leadership has arguably never been greater. "I look forward to working with students, faculty, alumnae and staff in furthering Douglass' outstanding tradition of excellence and in creating new opportunities for Douglass women to impact our campus, state, national and global communities."

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