Patrick Knisley, PhD

Dr. Patrick Knisley is dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences at FIT, a school that comprises 250 faculty members and offers more than 1,600 courses per year. Prior to that he was the chair and an associate professor in FIT’s English and Communication Studies Department.

Dr. Knisley is a graduate of Harvard College, holds an MA and a PhD in English Literature from the University of Colorado, and did post-doctoral work in business at the Stern Graduate School of Business at New York University. 

In addition to his academic work, Dr. Knisley has had a distinguished career in the professional communications industry, serving as president and CEO of Bates Canada, part of the Saatchi & Saatchi worldwide communications network. He has also held the positions of executive vice president of Bates New York, senior vice president of Young & Rubicam, director in charge of J. Walter Thompson, and president of production for Intelefilm, a consortium of film, video, and animation production companies. 

Dr. Knisley has owned and operated his own strategic branding consultancy, has worked for many years in the publishing and bookselling industries, and has partnered with the New York Public Library for the LIVE from NYPL series.