Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced the appointment of Rita DiMartino to the City University of New York (CUNY) Board of Trustees.  Pursuant to State Law, the Mayor appointed Rita DiMartino to the Board with the advice and consent of the New York State Senate.  Ms. DiMartino was confirmed today by the Senate. 

“Rita DiMartino will bring her extraordinary record of corporate experience, civic commitment and community involvement to the CUNY Board of Trustees,” said Mayor Bloomberg.  “As a distinguished CUNY alumna, she is a role model for all students attending CUNY.  All of New York City will benefit from her service on the CUNY Board.”

“I am deeply grateful to the Mayor for this opportunity to pay back the CUNY system for the high quality education I received,” said Rita DiMartino.  “I look forward to working to help make CUNY even stronger for all New Yorkers.”

Rita DiMartino, a CUNY graduate from the College of Staten Island, worked for AT&T for 25 years starting as the Managing Director of Caribbean and Central American Affairs and ascended to the position of Vice-President of Congressional Relations for AT&T.  She is a now a consultant in the private sector and serves on a number of boards including the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board to which she was appointed by President George W. Bush.  Ms. DiMartino is an esteemed member of the Hispanic community and a nationally recognized expert on Hispanic Affairs.  Presently, she is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Chairman of the Board of Bronx Lebanon Hospital and Vice-Chair of the Hispanic Council on Foreign Affairs of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. 

Ms. DiMartino was appointed by President Ronald Reagan as Ambassador to the UNICEF Executive Board in 1982 and was appointed by President George H. W. Bush to the USO World Board of Governors, 1992.  She is the recipient of multiple awards and honors including a Lifetime achievement Award from the New York State Federation of Hispanic Chambers of Commerce.  In addition to her CUNY education, she has earned an MPA from Long Island University.        

The City University of New York is composed of six community colleges, ten senior colleges, a technical college, graduate school, law school and a medical school.  The Board is comprised of 17
Trustees who serve seven year terms, ten appointments by the Governor and five appointments, one from each borough, by the Mayor.  Both require the advice and consent of the New York State Senate.  There are also two ex officio members, the Chair of the University Student Senate and the Chair of the University Faculty Senate.  Currently, Deputy Mayor for Operations Marc Shaw and Deputy Mayor for Legal Affairs Carol Robles-Roman serve on the Board.