Merryl H. Tisch was appointed to the New York State Board of Regents on April 1, 1996 and reelected to five-year terms on April 1, 2001, April 1, 2006 and April 1, 2011. She was elected Vice Chancellor by her colleagues effective April 1, 2007, was elected Chancellor by her colleagues effective April 1, 2009 and re-elected to a three year term effective April 1, 2010. Chancellor Tisch is chairperson of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty. Chancellor Tisch serves on the executive committees of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, the UJA-Federation of New York, the Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the Citizens Budget Commission. Additionally, she serves on the board of The Trust for Cultural Resources of the City of New York. She was appointed to the Graduate School of Education's Board of Overseers at the University of Pennsylvania in 1998 and has been a board member of both Barnard College and the Dalton School. From 1977 to 1984 Chancellor Tisch taught first-graders at New York City’s Ramaz School and the B’nai Jeshurun School. She received a B.A. from Barnard College, an M.A. in Education from New York University, and an Ed.D. from Teachers College, Columbia University.