Dara N. Byrne is the fourth dean of the City University of New York’s highly selective Macaulay Honors College, which has grown to become one of the top-ranked public honors colleges in the country since its establishment in 2001. Dean Byrne has two decades of experience as a professor, researcher and administrator with expertise in developing innovative and enterprising student success programs, particularly aimed at increasing the graduation rates of underrepresented and first-generation college students. Prior to Macaulay, she served as Associate Provost for Undergraduate Retention and Dean of Undergraduate Studies at John Jay College (CUNY) from 2016-2022. As Associate Provost and Dean, she developed several student-focused initiatives that are credited with raising the college’s graduation rate by 16% in five years. Byrne is a professor of rhetoric & intercultural communication at John Jay, which has been her academic home since 2003.