Christine Lemesianou

Biography

Dr. Christine Lemesianou is a higher education executive, institutional strategist, and tenured faculty member with expertise in institutional effectiveness, accreditation, strategic planning, academic transformation, and organizational change. As Associate Dean in Montclair State University’s College of the Arts and Advisor to the Provost for Accreditation, she leads complex initiatives connecting institutional priorities with academic programs, student success, resource strategy, organizational structures, and measurable outcomes.

Lemesianou has helped lead some of the University’s most significant transformation efforts. She has directed two university-wide Middle States accreditation self-studies, led accreditation and substantive-change work for the Bloomfield College merger, contributed to institutional strategic planning, and developed assessment and institutional-effectiveness frameworks that strengthen evidence-based decision-making and continuous improvement. Earlier, she helped lead the transformation and rapid growth of the School of Communication and Media, including academic program development, organizational design, student-success strategy, and planning for its $56 million state-of-the-art facility. Her leadership also spans academic program development, organizational redesign, budgeting, workforce strategy, enterprise systems, facilities planning, and community partnerships.

Lemesianou extends this experience through consulting, external evaluation, and professional leadership. She serves as an external evaluator for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and provides consultation in accreditation readiness, institutional effectiveness and assessment, academic program and curriculum development, organizational improvement, strategic planning, and external program review. A scholar and award-winning educator with expertise in communication, emerging media, design and innovation, she brings to her leadership practice a distinctive ability to connect strategy, evidence, communication, and human-centered change - particularly in projects requiring institutions to rethink how they organize, demonstrate impact, and prepare for the future.

Education

• BA, Adelphi University
• MA, Adelphi University
• PhD, Rutgers, The State University

Resume/CV

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Research

Recent Presentations & Workshops:

• Lemesianou, C. A., & Murdock, B. (2026, November). A Framework for Communicating Impact: Mission, Metrics, and Meaning. Preconference workshop, Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities Annual Conference, Houston, TX.
• Lemesianou, C. A., Burns, D., Benkert, S., & Jones, G. (2026, November). Resilience by Design: Workshop for New Deans. Full-day preconference workshop, International Council of Fine Arts Deans Annual Conference, Detroit, MI.
• Lemesianou, C. A., Connor, A., DeCapua, N., Mazur, J., & Kight, S. (2025, December). Let Student Success Anchor Accreditation in Uncertain Times. Panel, Middle States Commission on Higher Education Annual Conference, Philadelphia, PA.
• DiMaio, V. I., Lemesianou, C. A., Ruiz, A., Wright, A., & Johnson, C. J. (2025, October). Transformative Learning Through Wraparound Services and a Sense of Place: Unlocking Social-Economic-Mobility. Panel, Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities Annual Conference, Baltimore, MD.
• Lemesianou, C. A. (2024, October). Paterson One Square Mile and Student Success: Addressing Early College and College Readiness Through a Place-Based, Community-Led Collective Impact Model. Panel, Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN.
• Coté-Bonanno, J., Lemesianou, C. A., & Schwarz, S. (2018, December). Building and Benefitting from the Documentation Roadmap. Panel, Middle States Commission on Higher Education Annual Conference, Philadelphia, PA.
• Lemesianou, C. A., Besing, J., & La Voy, A. S. (2016, December). Pathways to Academic Excellence: Adapting the Self-Study Report to the Institution. Panel, Middle States Commission on Higher Education Annual Conference, Philadelphia, PA.
• Coté-Bonanno, J., Besing, J., La Voy, A. S., & Lemesianou, C. A. (2016, March). Adopting and Implementing the New MSCHE Standards. Panel, The Assessment Puzzle: Assembling the Pieces for Accreditation, Stevenson University, Owings Mills, MD.