Marie Lynn Miranda
Marie Lynn Miranda
Miranda in 2012
10th Chancellor of theUniversity of Illinois Chicago
Incumbent
Assumed office July 5, 2023
Preceded byJavier Reyes (interim)Michael Amiridis
Personal details
Born1963 (age 62–63)
United States
Children3
Scientific career
EducationDuke University (BA)Harvard University (MA, PhD)
Fields
InstitutionsDuke UniversityUniversity of MichiganRice UniversityUniversity of Notre DameUniversity of Illinois Chicago
ThesisEssays on land management (1990)
Doctoral advisorC. Peter Timmer

Marie Lynn Miranda (born 1963) is an American economist, data scientist, and academic administrator. She became the tenth chancellor of the University of Illinois Chicago and a vice president of the University of Illinois System in July 2023. She previously served as provost and professor of applied computational mathematics and statistics at the University of Notre Dame. A self-taught toxicologist and environmental scientist, Miranda researches children's environmental health and geospatial health informatics. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and was recognized as a 2023 Woman of Note by Crain's Chicago Business.[1][2]

Early life and education

Miranda was born in 1963.[3] She is the first member of her family to be born in the United States.[4] In 1961, her parents and three brothers moved to South Bend, Indiana from Goa while her father, Constancio Miranda, was studying civil engineering.[4] He was later a professor at the University of Detroit Mercy.[5] She attended Catholic schools in Detroit.[4] Miranda earned an A.B. in mathematics and economics, summa cum laude, from Duke University in 1985.[6][5] She was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa at Duke University.[6] She was also named a Truman Scholar.[6] While attending Duke University, she worked as a student manager for the Duke Blue Devils men's basketball under coach Mike Krzyzewski.[4] Miranda earned an M.A. (1988) and a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University, where she held a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.[6][5] Her 1990 dissertation was titled, Essays on Land Management.[7] Peter Timmer, Lawrence Goulder, and Jerry Green served on her doctoral committee.[7]

Career

Miranda joined the faculty at Duke University in 1990.[5][6] She is a self-taught toxicologist and environmental scientist and joined Duke's integrated toxicology and environmental health program in 1999.[5][8] Miranda was the founding director of the Children's Environmental Health Initiative (CEHI).[5] For nine years, she was the director of undergraduate programs for the Nicholas School of the Environment.[6] As a data scientist, her research focuses on geospatial health informatics.[9] From 2012 to 2015, Miranda was the Samuel A. Graham dean of the school of natural resources and environment at University of Michigan.[10][6] With a quantitative methods background, she was a professor of pediatrics and obstetrics and gynaecology at Michigan Medicine.[11][9]

In 2019, she was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.[6][12]

Miranda was the Howard R. Hughes Provost and a professor of statistics at Rice University from 2015 to 2019.[5][8]

From July 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021, Miranda was the Charles and Jill Fischer Provost of the University of Notre Dame.[13] She succeeded Thomas G. Burish to become the first woman and person of color to serve in the position.[4][14] She was also a professor of applied computational mathematics and statistics at Notre Dame.[15]

In July 2023, Miranda became the tenth chancellor of the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC).[6] In that capacity, she is also a vice president of the University of Illinois System.[3] She also serves as a faculty member in both the Department of Pediatrics and the Department of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science.

As chancellor, Miranda has articulated five institutional priorities for the University of Illinois Chicago:[16]

  1. Student success. The university's top priority is student success, with an emphasis on recruitment, retention, and graduation, while fostering a sense of belonging and connection among undergraduate, professional, and graduate students.
  2. Research infrastructure. A second priority is strengthening research infrastructure to position UIC at the forefront of knowledge creation and discovery.
  3. Community engagement. Miranda has identified engagement with UIC's surrounding community as a core priority, focused on expanding access to educational opportunities and clinical care in underserved communities to advance equity, efficiency, and sustainability.
  4. Partnerships. Another priority is building partnerships with businesses and nonprofit organizations to expand faculty opportunities and strengthen student engagement, internships, and employment pathways.
  5. Faculty and staff excellence. The final priority is recruiting and retaining outstanding faculty and staff, with an emphasis on ensuring that those who contribute to the university's success feel valued, supported, and motivated.[17]

In December 2025, Miranda received the Chicago Bridge Award from Chicago United, which recognizes leaders advancing inclusive practices across business and community sectors in Chicago.[18]

Research and Impact

Miranda continues to direct the Children's Environmental Health Initiative (CEHI), which she founded in 1998. CEHI is a research, education, and outreach organization committed to fostering environments where all people can prosper and is now based at UIC. Her research focuses on geospatial health informatics and children's environmental health, with over 135 peer-reviewed publications and more than $65 million in federal, corporate, and foundation funding as principal or co-principal investigator.[19]

CEHI's work on childhood lead exposure has had significant policy impact. The initiative's research linking lead exposure to performance on standardized tests contributed to the CDC's decision to set a more protective standard for childhood blood lead levels, helping protect hundreds of thousands of U.S. children.[20] CEHI also identified lead in aviation gasoline as a contributor to elevated blood lead levels in children living near airports, with a landmark 2011 study published in Environmental Health Perspectives demonstrating associations between proximity to airports and higher childhood blood lead levels.[21] This work informed ongoing policy discussions and the EPA's 2023 endangerment finding on leaded aviation gasoline.

More recent CEHI research focuses on racial residential segregation and how segregated neighborhoods experience greater exposure to social and environmental stressors, which drive health and educational disparities. In 2008, CEHI received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Justice Achievement Award.[22]

Honors and Recognition

In 2019, Miranda was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.[23] In 2023, she was named a Woman of Note by Crain's Chicago Business.[24] In December 2025, she received the Chicago Bridge Award from Chicago United.[25]

Board Service and Professional Activities

Miranda serves on multiple national and regional boards, including the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Environmental Defense Fund, the National Institute for Nursing Research, and the Executive Committee of the Board of Hispanic Serving Research Universities. She is also a member of the Board of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Club of Chicago, and The Chicago Network.[26]

Personal life

Miranda is married to Christopher Geron.[27] They have three children, two English Setters, and roughly 500,000 honeybees.[27]

See also

References

  1. ^"AAAS Announces Leading Scientists Elected as 2019 Fellows | American Association for the Advancement of Science". 2022-03-21.
  2. ^"Marie Lynn Miranda | Women of Note 2023". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  3. ^ abMabry, Laura (November 11, 2022). "Marie Lynn Miranda named chancellor of the University of Illinois Chicago". news.uillinois.edu. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  4. ^ abcdeFosmoe, Margaret (2021-04-05). "A Wild Ride". Notre Dame Magazine. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  5. ^ abcdefgSturdivant, Christina (2015-09-07). "Miranda Specializes in Environmental Advocacy, Safety". Diverse: Issues In Higher Education. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  6. ^ abcdefghi"Biography". University of Illinois Chicago. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  7. ^ abMiranda, Marie Lynn (1990). Essays on Land Management (Ph.D. thesis). Harvard University. OCLC 26069580.
  8. ^ abPetersen, Laura (January 29, 2020). "AAAS Fellow Marie Lynn Miranda Maps What Matters for Children's Environmental Health".
  9. ^ ab"Marie Lynn Miranda named provost of Rice University (via Passle)". Passle. 11 March 2015. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  10. ^"Marie Lynn Miranda Will Be the Next Provost at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana". Women In Academia Report. 2020-04-15. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  11. ^Miranda, Marie Lynn (2018). "Rice University's Curiosity-Driven Provost"(PDF). Association for Women in Science Fall Magazine. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  12. ^"AAAS Announces Leading Scientists Elected as 2019 Fellows | American Association for the Advancement of Science". 2022-03-21. Archived from the original on 2022-03-21. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  13. ^"Marie Lynn Miranda stepping aside as provost". 2021-12-09.
  14. ^Crnkovich, Zef (2021-11-18). "Provost Marie Lynn Miranda Reflects on University, Catholic Education". Irish Rover. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  15. ^Elbow, Marion (2022-05-05). "Chancellor finalist Marie Lynn Miranda focuses on mental health, promoting equity in Q&A". The Badger Herald. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  16. ^"Biography". University of Illinois Chicago. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  17. ^"Biography". University of Illinois Chicago. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  18. ^"Chancellor Miranda receives Bridge Award". UIC Today. December 18, 2025. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  19. ^"Marie Lynn Miranda". Children's Environmental Health Initiative, UIC. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  20. ^"Racial segregation magnifies effects of childhood lead exposure". Rice University News. 2022. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  21. ^Miranda, Marie Lynn; Anthopolos, Rebecca; Hastings, Douglas (2011). "A Geospatial Analysis of the Effects of Aviation Gasoline on Childhood Blood Lead Levels". Environmental Health Perspectives. 119 (10): 1513–1516. doi:10.1289/ehp.1003231. PMC 3230438.
  22. ^"Marie Lynn Miranda". Children's Environmental Health Initiative, UIC. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  23. ^"AAAS Announces Leading Scientists Elected as 2019 Fellows | American Association for the Advancement of Science". 2022-03-21.
  24. ^"Marie Lynn Miranda | Women of Note 2023". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  25. ^"Chancellor Miranda receives Bridge Award". UIC Today. December 18, 2025. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  26. ^"Biography". University of Illinois Chicago. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  27. ^ ab"University of Illinois System welcomes new UIC chancellor and vice president of U of I System". massmail.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
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