A scholar of English literature, whose work reaches across neuroscience and the arts, has been selected as the 10th president of Pomona College.

Appointed by the Pomona College Board of Trustees, G. Gabrielle Starr will succeed President David W. Oxtoby, who will step down June 30, 2017 after what will be 14 years leading the college.

Starr has been Dean of New York University’s College of Arts and Science. She will be the first woman and the first African American president of Pomona College, one of the nation’s premier liberal arts institutions.

Her collegiate work began at the age of 15, when she set off to study at Emory University before going on to earn her Ph.D. from Harvard University.

“It’s a great honor to join Pomona’s extraordinary community of scholars and researchers, artists and activists, educators and entrepreneurs,” said Starr. “The life of the mind speaks to a deep human need, and we are truly fortunate to be able to pursue the true breadth of human knowledge in a vibrant and open atmosphere.

A scholar of 18th-century British literature, Starr’s recent research intersects aesthetics and neuroscience, studying how we think about, and how our bodies respond to, music, painting and poetry.

– Submitted by Pomona College