[2] Her appointment to replace longtime Chancellor Joel Klein was announced on November 9, 2010 by Mayor Michael Bloomberg[3] and became effective on January 3, 2011.

Black oversaw Newspaper National Network's founding, raised funding, and hired the first management team.

[14] She has been a member of the board of directors of IBM and The Coca-Cola Company, Hearst Corporation, Advertising Council, United Way of America and Gannett Co. Inc. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations[15] She is also on the National Leadership Board of Harlem Village Academies and a Trustee of the University of Notre Dame.

Black resigned her position on the Coke board after the NYC nomination, citing potential conflicts of interest.

The mayor reiterated both the school policy against soda sales and his support for Black when the subject was raised after the nomination.

Donald McHenry, "a longtime Coke board member and a professor at Georgetown University who sat on the committee" with Black, confirmed that the issue had faced the board continuously but did not address Black's position or individual role in the internal company debates, decisions and actions.

[6] The waiver was granted by Steiner, with Black's shortfall in formal qualifications "offset by the appointment of a chief academic officer to serve by her side [as well as her] 'exceptional record of successfully leading complex organizations and achievement of excellence in her endeavors.'"

Before her appointment was approved, Bloomberg's office announced supporters of his choice included former Mayors Rudy Giuliani and Ed Koch, State Senator Malcolm Smith, City Council Majority Leader Joel Rivera.

[19] A spokesman for the Department of Education later said Black cares about overcrowding, and "regrets if she left a different impression by making an off-handed joke in the course of that conversation.

[20][21][22] As a result, at the following meeting on February 3, Black was booed by parents and criticized by members of the New York City Council.

The book has been licensed for translated editions in 12 countries including China, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, Russia, Korea, Poland, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Romania and Croatia.