Michelle Moody-Adams, a former vice provost from Cornell University, became the first Black and the first woman to serve as the dean of Columbia University's undergraduate college.

She replaces Dean Austin Quigley, who retires on July 1.

In addition to her former role as vice provost for undergraduate education at Cornell, in Ithaca, N.Y., she has also taught philosophy at Indiana University, the University of Rochester and Wellesley College.

Columbia College, based in New York City, has 4,000 students and is one of the most competitive colleges in the country.