UTICA, NY – SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) is pleased to announce that Dr. Andrew Russell has been chosen to serve as the university’s provost, a role he has held in an interim capacity since January.

“Given Dr. Russell’s reputation, and the skill with which he steered our institution through multiple transitions, I have complete confidence that he is the best person to lead SUNY Poly into the next phase of our academic evolution,” said SUNY Poly President Dr. Winston Soboyejo. “My experience with Dr. Russell over the last seven months has shown that he is a thoughtful consensus-builder who is well-respected on our campus, within the SUNY system, in the global academic community, and with our partners in the Mohawk Valley. 

“He has been instrumental in many conversations with players in the semiconductor industry, Mohawk Valley Edge, and other stakeholders; in implementing our seed grant and research center development efforts; and in working with [Interim Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students] Jennifer Adams, [Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering] Timothy Busch, and [Griffiss Institute President/CEO and SUNY Poly Foundation Board Member] Heather Hage to lay the foundations of our strategic planning efforts,” Dr. Soboyejo continued.  “His leadership, in various capacities over the past year and a half, has set SUNY Poly on a very strong path. Furthermore, Dr. Russell will remain a driving force in elevating the impact of SUNY Poly’s education, research, and innovation as we take our place as the state and nation’s premier public polytechnic.”

“I’m excited to serve as SUNY Poly’s provost and work with my peers on the university’s leadership team to build on the positive momentum we’ve seen in the last year and a half,” said Dr. Russell. “Moreover, I look forward to supporting and engaging our tremendous faculty, working collaboratively to grow our academic offerings to continue meeting the needs of current and prospective students, as well as those of industry partners. Our growth in research and education could not be more timely, given the momentous growth the Mohawk Valley region and New York State have been seeing in several sectors such as healthcare, semiconductors, and advanced manufacturing.”

Dr. Russell joined SUNY Poly in 2016 as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences from Stevens Institute of Technology. In December 2022, he was asked to serve as SUNY Poly’s Officer-in-Charge during a pivotal time in our university’s history: working with members of the campus community, as well as peers at the University at Albany and the SUNY system in transferring the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering back to UAlbany — a task that was completed four months ahead of schedule.

When Dr. Soboyejo began his tenure as SUNY Poly’s seventh president last October, Dr. Russell assisted with his transition and participated in several key initiatives as Deputy to the President for Strategy and Planning from October-December 2023, before taking on another critical leadership role as the university’s interim provost in January. Following a national search for SUNY Poly’s next permanent provost, which brought several impressive candidates to campus, Dr. Russell was chosen to lead SUNY Poly’s academic efforts moving forward.

Dr. Russell is an accomplished scholar and author, with his research focusing primarily on historical and contemporary aspects of computing, infrastructure, and technology. He is author or co-author of three books, has published over two dozen peer-reviewed papers, and has engaged broad public audiences through media interviews with NPR, CNN, Wired, and the Guardian, as well as essays in the New York Times, Washington Post, IEEE Spectrum, and Aeon. His work has been supported by organizations including the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Charles Babbage Institute, Duke University’s John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute, and the National Institute for Standards and Technology. He is a member of editorial boards for the academic journals Technology and Culture and Internet Histories, and he is an active member of multiple professional organizations including the American Historical Association and the Society for the History of Technology. A native of upstate New York, Dr. Russell earned his bachelor of arts in History at Vassar College, his master of arts at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and doctorate in History of Science, Medicine, and Technology from The Johns Hopkins University.