Dr. Nancy S. Niemi is the eighth President of Framingham State University, assuming the role on July 1, 2022. Since her appointment, she has demonstrated a deep commitment to advancing the University’s mission of education as a force for social justice and the public good. Her leadership has centered on building inclusive campus communities and ensuring that all students have access to transformational academic and co-curricular experiences.
One of Dr. Niemi’s first actions as President was to restructure the University’s leadership framework, elevating student-centered priorities by moving Student Development out of Enrollment and establishing a new Division of Student Success. This division is focused on ensuring that Framingham State students have the academic, personal, and financial support they need to persist through graduation and thrive beyond it.
Under her leadership, Framingham State has made significant investments to expand access to internships and other learning-integrated work opportunities for every student, while also strengthening the University’s role as a vibrant community and regional partner advancing economic and social development across the Commonwealth. During her tenure, Dr. Niemi oversaw the successful completion of a $39 million comprehensive fundraising campaign - the largest in the University’s history - and led efforts to secure state funding to develop on-campus housing for faculty and staff, planned for completion by 2027.
Dr. Niemi was elected to the Horseheads Public School Board in 1989, a role in which she served for three consecutive terms (nine years), the last of which she was elected to by the widest margin in New York State history. Her tenure on the Board included positions as Curriculum Committee Chair and Vice President, as well as representing the Southern Tier of NY State as Legislative Liaison to the New York State Department of Education, from 1995-1997.
Her interest in questions of politics, society, and power in public education led her to doctoral study at the University of Rochester’s Warner School of Education. While a student, she taught as an Adjunct Professor of Education, creating several new classes for the School. Her doctoral dissertation was a year-long ethnographic study of a middle school, exploring the intersections of gender, education, and power, which set the stage for her career-long exploration of those dimensions.
