Kyle Kimball will take the reins as Cornell’s vice president for university relations beginning Sept. 15, according to the Cornell Chronicle.
In this role, Kimball will oversee the University’s internal and external communications, brand image and media statements. He will also coordinate Cornell’s relations with local, state and federal governments.
Kimball succeeds Joel Malina, who served in the position for 11 years, and Monica Yant Kinney, who took the helm interimly after Malina’s January 2025 departure amid criticism from students and faculty over his comments about accepted guests at the University while speaking in a Zoom call with Hillel parents.
With a history in overseeing education, Kimball is making a jump from the Big Apple to Upstate New York. For the past two years, he has served as New York University’s vice president of government relations and community engagement. He co-led NYU’s university relations and public affairs division at the same time, according to the Chronicle.
Before taking on NYU, Kimball was appointed to the New York City Panel for Educational Policy by NYC Mayor Eric Adams in 2022 and managed objectives for the city’s public schools.
In 2015, Kimball was appointed vice president for government relations, regional and community affairs at Con Edison, where he focused on clean energy and climate change initiatives, according to an NYU press release. Before his stint at Con Edison, Kimball headed the New York City Economic Development Corporation as president from 2013-2015, and oversaw the development of large city endeavors like Brooklyn Bridge Park and Governor’s Island.
Kimball earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College in 1995. As an undergraduate student, he took a year off from school to volunteer as a hospice care provider for end-stage AIDS patients with AmeriCorps. He then obtained a master’s in public policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School in 1998 and completed the LGBTQ Executive Leadership Program at Stanford Business School in 2018.
Originally hailing from Kansas, Kimball currently lives in Brooklyn with his husband and 12-year-old daughter. As he takes on his new role at Cornell, he told the Cornell Chronicle that he is excited to “grow new roots” in Ithaca.
“I’m looking forward to joining both the Ithaca and Cornell communities, and I’m also excited about the amazing stories that can be told about Cornell’s global impact,” Kimball said in an interview with the Cornell Chronicle.
Varsha Bhargava is a member of the Class of 2027 in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She is a news editor for the 143rd Editorial Board and can be reached at vbhargava@cornellsun.com.
