UTICA, NY – SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) is pleased to announce that Jennifer Adams will be the university’s next Vice President for Student Affairs. Adams, who formerly served as assistant vice president for student affairs and dean of students, held the role in an interim capacity since January. She has worked within many functional areas from operations to academic advisement to student life in her more than 25 years in higher education and student affairs.

“Jennifer Adams is a seasoned educator who brings a deep understanding of our students, their needs, and how best to support them – as well as the empathy and wisdom needed to manage student affairs at this time,” said Dr. Winston Soboyejo, SUNY Poly’s president. “Jen has also made many contributions to our campus beyond the area of student affairs. She was a major thought leader in the strategic planning process, one of the original four people who laid the foundations for SUNY Poly’s current strategic plan.”

“Since joining SUNY Poly in 2011, the campus community has not only given me continual support to implement creative ideas and explore new initiatives, but also embraced me and my entire family,” said Adams. “I am personally committed to giving back all that I have received to SUNY Poly, our students, and all the staff I will ever have the opportunity to supervise, ten-fold. I am excited to serve as the university’s VP for Student Affairs and take a leading role in reiterating our focus on high-quality academic programs and creating a ‘one size does not fit all’ campus community in which all students are met where they are and feel they belong.”

During her tenure at SUNY Poly, Adams has overseen the areas of residential life and housing, student involvement, orientation, first-year seminar, community standards, student governance, and the Care Team. She is also an adjunct instructor for the College of Business, teaching both online and in-person courses, most commonly in business management, organizational behavior, and human resource management. As Chair of the SUNY Polytechnic Care Team, Adams has worked to engage multiple campus partners to improve and establish processes related to accessibility, withdrawals, leaves of absence, and student retention, providing campus with leadership in the areas of threat, liability, and wrap around support services for students. 

Adams also serves on an advisory group for the International Alliance for Care and Threat Teams, a collaboration of professionals from diverse fields who create a platform of expertise on CARE and threat team functioning, mental illness assessment and treatment, law enforcement, accessibility services, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), autism, masculinity, and prevention education.

Adams has a Master’s in College Student Personnel from Bowling Green State University and Master’s of Business Administration from Heidelberg University. She also has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania.