Mariët Westermann
Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive, New York University Abu Dhabi
Mariët Westermann is the vice chancellor and chief executive of New York University Abu Dhabi. She previously served as executive vice president of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, where she oversaw the grantmaking and research programs. Westermann was also the first provost of NYU Abu Dhabi and director and professor of NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts, associate director of research at the Clark Art Institute, and a faculty member at Rutgers University. As a historian of Netherlandish art she has authored numerous scholarly and museum publications, including the widely read A Worldly Art: The Dutch Republic 1585-1718, and curated the exhibition Art and Home: Dutch Interiors in the Age of Rembrandt (Denver Art Museum and Newark Museum). Her current research investigates the garden of Eden in the Judaic, Christian, and Islamic traditions. She earned a BA at Williams College and a PhD at the Institute of Fine Arts. Westermann serves on the boards of ALIPH (The International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas), the Educational Testing Service, the Rijksmuseum, AmCham Abu Dhabi, and the US-UAE Business Council, and chairs the Scholar Rescue Fund of the Institute of International Education.
