Message to Campus Community
Dear Members of the SUNY Polytechnic Institute Community:
It is with great anticipation that we are restarting the process to identify the next President of SUNY Poly. I am pleased to give you an update regarding what we have done, where we are now, and what the next steps in the process look like.
The Firm
The firm conducting the recruitment is the executive search and consulting firm RPA Inc. of Williamsport, PA.
Listening Sessions
As we begin to start the presidential search process, we have arranged several listening sessions with RPA Inc., the executive recruitment firm that has been retained to assist the institution in recruitment efforts to find the next President for SUNY Poly.
The purpose of these listening sessions is to provide you with an opportunity to speak about what you would like to see as the qualities/traits of the next president; the challenges and opportunities you believe they will face; and what would make us an attractive school to the next president. Please be on the lookout for an email with dates and links to these sessions.
Survey to gather community input
Input from the entire SUNY Poly community is essential at this stage of the search, and we will carefully consider your thoughts about the university’s priorities and the qualities, skills, and experiences you are looking for in the next president. This information will be supplied to students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of the University in the form of a survey.
Search Committee
SUNY Poly’s Presidential Search Committee is conducting the search in accordance with SUNY’s Presidential Search Guidelines. The 17-member Search Committee consists of four members of the College Council, six faculty members, one student, one professional or support staff representative, one alumni representative, one academic dean, one campus-related foundation representative, one member of the SUNY Chancellor’s senior staff, and one SUNY System liaison (non-voting). The Search Committee will be representative of the wide-range of excellent work that takes place at SUNY Poly each day. Throughout this search process, we are dedicated to supporting the success of the university long into the future.
The legal authority to appoint the president or chief administrative officer of a state-operated SUNY campus rests with the State University of New York Board of Trustees. College councils have the responsibility to recommend a candidate or candidates to the Board. To assist councils in their work, SUNY has adopted a policy with procedures for the search for and nomination of candidates.
Thank you for your support and participation in the SUNY Poly Presidential search process.
Sincerely,
RoAnn Destito
Chair, SUNY Polytechnic Institute College Council
Process Questions?
Contact Zulaika Rodriguez at ExecSearches@suny.edu or 518-320-1538
College Council Representatives
RoAnn Destito - SUNY Poly College Council and Search Committee Chair
Mitch Ford - College Council Member
Keith Levatino - College Council Member
William Thickstun - College Council Member
Faculty Representatives
Kristina Boylan, PhD - College of Arts and Sciences Representative
Emilio Cobanera, PhD - At-Large Representative (Untenured Faculty)
Robert Edgell, PhD - College of Business Representative
Zhanjie Li, PhD - College of Engineering Representative
Jerome Niyirora, PhD - College of Health Sciences Representative
Linda Weber, PhD - Faculty Assembly/Senate Chair
Student Representative
Nicholas Rossi - Student Representative
Alumni Representative
Scott Shyne, '88, G’89
Foundation Representative
Heather Hage
Academic Dean Representative
Arthur Lu, College of Business
Professional or Support Staff Representative
Melissa Prest, Director of EOP and Multicultural Affairs
Chancellor’s Representative
Randy VanWagoner - Member of the Chancellor’s Senior Staff
Non-Voting Representatives
Zulaika Rodriguez-Awoliyi—Chancellor’s liaison representative (non-voting)
Andrea LaGatta - Campus Liaison
May – July
- The search committee reviewed and selected candidates for virtual search committee interviews.
- The search committee conducted virtual search committee interviews with 9 semi-finalists
- The search committee selected five candidates for campus visits to meet with a variety of campus constituents following the representational search model.
- The search committee to recommend to the College Council all acceptable candidates.
- The College Council to meet and review recommendation of three finalists to the Chancellor.
SUNY Poly Presidential Search Update - February 13, 2023 (pdf)
News Release: SUNY Polytechnic Institute Begins Search for New President
Search Firm
The firm conducting the recruitment is the executive search and consulting firm RPA Inc. of Williamsport, PA.
About RPA Inc.
RPA Inc. is a nationally recognized comprehensive executive search and consulting firm, founded in 1988. With over three decades of service to higher education, the firm has established a record of success in recruitment and search facilitation across all levels of senior administration. RPA Inc. is dedicated to the philosophy that a recruitment effort is an opportunity to positively impact the future of an institution. The firm’s guiding objective is to develop a full understanding of each institution it serves and to identify and seek out professionals whose skill sets, values, and personal characteristics most closely match the needs and values of the institution. For more information about RPA Inc., please visit our site.
To make a confidential nomination or to apply, please email: SUNYPolyPresident@rpainc.org.
The legal authority to appoint the president or chief administrative officer of a state-operated SUNY campus rests with the State University of New York Board of Trustees. College councils have the responsibility to recommend a candidate or candidates to the Board. To assist councils in their work, SUNY has adopted a policy with procedures for the search for and nomination of candidates.
The process will be conducted using the representational search model. According to SUNY Guidelines, a representational search is where the search committee will be the representatives of the campus in lieu of campus visits and where the semi-finalists’ names are not publicized to the community.
During a representational search, members of the college council and other designated members of the SUNY Poly community will be invited to meet with the semi-finalist candidates under strict rules of confidentiality.
For process questions, please contact:
Zulaika Rodriguez
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Presidential Searches
ExecSearches@suny.edu
518-320-1538
