James Muyskens was appointed Queens College's ninth president in July 2002. His tenure has been a period of outstanding growth and achievement for the institution he leads.

Muyskens launched the updating of the college's undergraduate General Education curriculum and introduced new programs in business administration, neuroscience, graphic design, bioinformatics, and other disciplines. He has also guided the recruitment of hundreds of new faculty. Muyskens has overseen the completion of the renovation of Powdermaker Hall (the college's primary classroom facility), as well as the $30 million addition to Remsen Hall, which now houses new chemistry laboratories. In fall 2009, he welcomed students to The Summit, the college’s first-ever residence hall.

In 2007, Queens College received a glowing reaccreditation report from the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. Muyskens recently oversaw the college's ambitious new strategic planning initiative, which established goals for the college to achieve during the next 20 years. In addition, he spearheaded the college's most ambitious capital fund-raising campaign, which exceeded its goal of $100 million.

Muyskens' appointment to Queens College marked his return to the City University of New York. He began his career at Hunter College as an assistant professor of philosophy and moved through the ranks to full professor. He also served Hunter as chair of its Department of Philosophy and as associate provost and acting provost. Subsequently, Muyskens spent seven years as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kansas before serving as senior vice chancellor for academic affairs for the 34-campus University System of Georgia.

A graduate of Central College in Iowa, Muyskens earned a Master of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary and a PhD in philosophy from the University of Michigan. His publications include two books, The Sufficiency of Hope and Moral Problems in Nursing: A Philosophical Investigation, as well as numerous articles concerning the philosophy of religion and ethics.