Dr. Stephen Freedman is provost of Fordham University and professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. He leads the University’s schools and colleges, research centers and institutes, and other academic units.

An experienced educator, researcher, and university administrator, Dr. Freedman earned his  B.Sc. from Loyola of Montreal, his M.E.S. from York University in Toronto, and his Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology from the University of California at Irvine.  He also completed the United Nations Graduate Study Program in Geneva, Switzerland. Dr. Freedman’s research focuses on the interaction between humans and their environments from an ecological perspective. An active scholar, he has authored or co-authored more than 20 articles, and has received numerous grants to support his research in biology, curricular development and educational leadership.

Dr. Freedman joined Loyola University of Chicago in 1978 and served for twenty-four years as  professor in the Department of Natural Science, member of the graduate faculty in the Department of Biology, and Dean of Mundelein College.  He served as academic vice president at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington from 2002 to 2007 when he joined Fordham as Senior Vice President and Chief Academic Officer.  In October 2010, his position was elevated to Provost.

A committed leader in higher education, Dr. Freedman chairs the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities committee of chief academic officers.  He is a member of the administrative board of the International Association of Universities (IAU), a member of the global advisory board of Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies and a member of the board for The Beijing Center for Chinese Studies.