Karim Ismaili

Karim Ismaili is the seventh president of Eastern Connecticut State University. He has nearly three decades of experience in higher education. Prior to his appointment at Eastern, Ismaili served as Executive Vice President and Provost at Bridgewater State University. He also held academic and administrative roles at Radford University, St. John’s University, Kennesaw State University, and Toronto Metropolitan University. Earlier in his career, Ismaili was a policy and research advisor on criminal justice issues in the Government of Canada.

Ismaili has promoted student success, fostered academic innovation, advanced educational equity and social justice, reimagined enrollment strategies, and secured substantial funding in support of institutional goals. True to his commitment to liberal arts education, Ismaili fosters an environment for the constructive exchange of ideas and instills a deep respect for the values of free speech and democracy.

A scholar of crime policy and social theory, Ismaili earned a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Western Ontario, a MPhil in criminology from the University of Cambridge, and a B.A. in criminology from Simon Fraser University. His research on immigration, policing, public policy, and criminological thought has been published in various academic journals and featured in national media outlets.