Mercy University adds two leaders to its Board of Trustees

Mercy University on July 22 appointed Dr. DaMia Harris-Madden and Dr. John A. Chabot to its Board of Trustees, bringing state government, child welfare, healthcare leadership and medical innovation experience to the governing body. The appointments strengthen the university’s leadership as it looks to advance its mission in higher education and student success.

Why it matters: - Mercy University is adding trustees with experience in both public service and advanced medical leadership. - The appointments are meant to broaden the board’s perspective as the university guides strategy, academic excellence, innovation and service. - The new trustees bring backgrounds tied to child welfare, family advocacy, healthcare delivery and medical research.

What happened: - Mercy University announced on July 22, 2026, that Dr. DaMia Harris-Madden and Dr. John A. Chabot joined its Board of Trustees. - Dr. Harris-Madden is commissioner of the New York State Office of Children and Family Services. - Dr. Chabot is chief of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery and the David V. Habif professor of Surgery at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. - Mercy framed both appointments as additions to the university’s governing body and strategic leadership.

The details: - Dr. Harris-Madden is an appointed member of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration. - OCFS has more than 3,500 employees and a budget of nearly $8 billion. - The agency leads state efforts to promote the safety, permanency and well-being of children, families and communities across New York. - Harris-Madden earned both a Master of Science in Human Resource Management and an MBA from Mercy University. - Mercy described Harris-Madden’s board seat as a homecoming for the alumna. - Harris-Madden has more than 20 years of executive leadership across state government, local government, education and the nonprofit sector. - Before joining Hochul’s administration, Harris-Madden served in the cabinets of the Westchester County executive and four mayors in Mount Vernon, New York. - Her career has included work on childcare, child welfare, juvenile justice and other human services programs. - Harris-Madden has also helped implement Hochul’s plan to expand childcare access across New York State. - Dr. Chabot founded and directs the Pancreas Center at Columbia/NewYork-Presbyterian, established in 2006. - Mercy said the center is one of the world’s largest and most effective clinical cancer programs. - The center also serves as a research hub focused on developing new pancreatic cancer therapies. - Chabot has performed more than 2,500 complex pancreatic procedures. - His career has been entirely at Columbia/NewYork-Presbyterian, where he started as an intern in 1983 and later became chief of hepato-pancreato-biliary surgery and vice president of ColumbiaDoctors. - Chabot earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Science from Tufts University and a Doctor of Medicine from Dartmouth Medical School. - He is a member of the American Medical Association and the American Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association. - Mercy University serves more than 9,000 students annually across campuses in Westchester, the Bronx and Manhattan, as well as online. - Mercy is a federally designated minority-serving institution and the largest private Hispanic Serving Institution in New York. - The university offers more than 100 undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs across six schools. - Mercy was founded in 1950 by the Sisters of Mercy. - More information is available in the university’s announcement.

Between the lines: - Mercy is signaling a board strategy that blends public-sector governance with high-level clinical expertise. - Harris-Madden’s appointment also deepens the university’s ties to New York state policy and family-services leadership. - Chabot’s background gives Mercy direct board-level insight into healthcare innovation and medical training.

What's next: - Harris-Madden and Chabot will help guide Mercy University’s future decisions as trustees. - Their experience is likely to shape discussions tied to student opportunity, healthcare education and community impact.

The bottom line: - Mercy University is using its board appointments to reinforce mission-driven leadership with experience that reaches from Albany to academic medicine.