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SUNY Potsdam Launches National Search for College’s Next President 

May 12, 2022

SUNY Potsdam Announces Search for the College’s 18th President

The State University of New York at Potsdam has launched its national search for the College’s 18th president. SUNY Potsdam’s Presidential Search Committee has now been appointed, and the search firm RPA Inc. has been retained to recruit the institution’s next leader. 

SUNY Potsdam College Council Chair June F. O’Neill (Hon. ’99) will chair the Presidential Search Committee. 

“I am pleased to announce the membership of the Presidential Search Committee and to report that we held our first meeting yesterday, where Chancellor Stanley charged the group with our task to find SUNY Potsdam’s next leader,” O’Neill said. “The search committee makeup is consistent with the SUNY Presidential Search Guidelines and representative of the wide range of excellent work that takes place at SUNY Potsdam each day.” 

The Presidential Search Committee members are:   

College Council representatives 

  • June O’Neill (Hon. ’99), Chair  
  • Molly Clough ’92 
  • ​​Richard Daddario 
  • Alex Hammond 

Elected faculty representatives 

  • Erin Brooks, Associate Professor, Crane School of Music 
  • Walt Conley, Professor, Biology  
  • Christine Doran, Associate Professor, English & Communication, Interdisciplinary Studies/Director 
  • Tanya Hewitt ’09, Chair/Instructor, Public Health & Human Performance  
  • ​​​​​​​Blair Madore, Associate Professor, Mathematics 
  • ​​​​​​​John Youngblood, Associate Professor, Interdisciplinary Studies  

Academic dean representative 
Allen Grant, Dean, School of Education and Professional Studies 

Alumni representative  
Peter Galloway ’83, President-Elect, Alumni Association Board of Trustees 

Professional/Support Staff representative  
Lynn Durant, Administrative Assistant 2, Campus Life 

College Foundation representative 
Justin Sipher ’92 & ’99, Program Leader, MOR Associates  

Student representative 
Abby Rodriguez ’24, Crane School of Music 

Chancellor’s senior staff representative  
Tanisha McKnight, Assistant Deputy General Counsel, SUNY System Administration  

Chancellor’s liaison (Non-Voting) 
Zulaika Rodriguez, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Presidential Searches, Evaluations, and Onboarding 

College liaison (Non-Voting) 
​​​​​​​Nazely Kurkjian, Chief of Staff  

To submit a nomination or an application for this position, email SUNYPotsdamPresident@rpainc.org

To learn more about the search, visit https://www.potsdam.edu/about/leadership/office-president/presidential-search

About SUNY Potsdam:  
Founded in 1816, The State University of New York at Potsdam is one of America’s first 50 colleges—and the oldest institution within SUNY. Now in its third century, SUNY Potsdam is distinguished by a legacy of pioneering programs and educational excellence. The College currently enrolls approximately 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Home to the world-renowned Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam is known for its challenging liberal arts and sciences core, distinction in teacher training and culture of creativity. To learn more, visit www.potsdam.edu

For Media Inquiries

Alexandra Jacobs Wilke

jacobsam@potsdam.edu (315) 267-2918

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