Feniosky Peña-Mora

Peña-Mora is the Edwin Howard Armstrong Professor of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at Columbia University.[3] Previously, he was also the dean of the Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science at the university.[4]

As dean, he focused on implementing a three-pronged strategic plan encompassing faculty excellence, student support, and space growth. During his deanship, the School of Engineering and Applied Science doubled its endowed chairs and raised $75 million for Columbia Engineering.[5][6] Peña-Mora also led the reformulation of the online Master's program in engineering, which ranked number 1 in the 2013 U.S. News & World Report.[7]

Peña-Mora's tenure was controversial. A number of faculty members and department chairmen passed a "no-confidence" vote in his leadership.[8] They criticized his self-serving style of management, his hasty expansion of the engineering school, which overloaded professors with too many students, and asserted that he prioritized fund-raising over research and did not honor his promises. One of Peña-Mora's most vocal critics, Van C. Mow, called him a "control freak" and stepped down from his position as Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering in 2011.[9] Mow's harsh critique was challenged by some as being driven by his general "resistance to change," especially when implemented by a dean 26 years his junior.[8] After various attempts to bridge the differences, Peña-Mora eventually resigned in July 2012.[10]

Peña-Mora resigned from his position as Dean in July 2012.[11] As a results, some questioned their “confidence—as well as the confidence of many others at Columbia—in the ability of Columbia to maintain diverse leadership at the top.”[12] Faculty, students and community leaders complained about “racial bias in its ranks“.[13] A highly regarded Hispanic biology professor has complained to Columbia President Lee Bollinger about the "ethnic bullying", "unbridled racism" and "the shameful bullying of our engineering Dean Peña-Mora shows similar characteristics" to the ‘gauntlet’ other minority faculty have faced at Columbia.”[13] Another professor communicated how senior faculty in engineering even “complain about his [Peña-Mora] Spanish accent";[13] which was especially surprising, given that Israel-born Zvi Galil, Dean of the Engineering School from 1995–2007, had a strong accent that was "loved" by many.[14]

Peña-Mora continues to supervise PhD and graduate research students and was listed as being on "public service leave" while serving at the DDC. He maintains a named professorship with a salary of more than $500,000 in 2015 on top of his salary as Commissioner.[15]

On April 8, 2014, Dr. Peña-Mora was appointed the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Design and Construction (DDC) by Mayor Bill de Blasio. While Commissioner, Peña-Mora visited many of the DDC's projects, including the rehabilitation of the High Bridge, which restored a vital link between upper Manhattan and the Bronx; the new New York City Police Academy in College Point, Queens, which will train more than 1,600 new police officers each year to protect the City; the Ocean Breeze Athletic Center, which symbolizes continued investment in neighborhoods impacted by Hurricane Sandy; and, the transformation of Times Square into a permanent pedestrian plaza.

Controversy followed Peña-Mora to the public sector in 2016 when a supposed quid pro quo scheme was uncovered, as Peña-Mora directed DDC funds and City contracts to Renee Sacks, and organizations she works with, and Sacks' firm, Sacks Communications, made its entire Spring 2016 issue of Diversity/Agenda magazine all about Peña-Mora.[16]

On June 21, 2017, Peña-Mora announced his plans to step down from the DDC.[17][18] News reports tied his departure to "Hurricane Sandy rebuilding failures."[19]