Alain Kaloyeros becomes school's president, CEO

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="615"] CNSE Senior Vice President and CEO Dr. Alain Kaloyeros speaks during a press conference announcing the NY HEALS initiative at Albany Medical Center on Monday Sept. 30, 2013 in Albany, N.Y. Leaders from academia, business, and the medical community announced the NY HEALS initiative that will "position New York as a leader in 21st century healthcare technologies." (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)[/caption]

Albany

In a virtual fait accompli, the  SUNY board of trustees named  Alain Kaloyeros the first-ever president of  SUNY Polytechnic Institute  on Tuesday.

The nearly three-decade accession by Kaloyeros from assistance physics professor to university president has mirrored — and fueled — the growth of the Capital Region's high-tech economy.

Kaloyeros was hired by the University at Albany in 1988 after earning his Ph.D. in experimental condensed matter physics from the University of Illinois.

With his ability to attract private-sector dollars and match them with investments by the state, Kaloyeros transformed his research activities into the Albany NanoTech campus on Fuller Road and founded the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, home to the semiconductor research operations of companies like IBM, Intel and GlobalFoundries.

SUNY officials announced plans to make CNSE separate from UAlbany in 2013, and last year, the college became a stand-alone university, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, after merging with SUNY IT in Utica.

Kaloyeros has always been the top executive at SUNY Poly and its predecessors and was granted the powers of a university president back in 2008.

However, until Tuesday he only held the titles of CEO and officer-in-charge. He interviewed with the  SUNY board last week in New York City in advance of his official appointment to the job, and his new title is president and CEO.

"As the visionary who built CNSE into a world-class, high-tech and globally recognized academic and economic development juggernaut, Dr. Alain Kaloyeros is the clear choice to lead SUNY Polytechnic Institute into the future," SUNY Chancellor  Nancy L. Zimpher said in a statement.

Kaloyeros, who makes $801,700, much of it generated from research dollars he has brought to SUNY Poly, isn't getting a raise with the promotion. He also declined the housing and car benefits provided to other SUNY presidents.

However, like any other SUNY researchers, Kaloyeros can bring in more income as the principal investigator on external research grants and contracts, excluding state nanotechnology funding.

"I am privileged and humbled to be selected for the honor of leading this world-class institution and its talented and dedicated faculty, staff and students," Kaloyeros said in a statement. "I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to (Gov.  Andrew Cuomo), Chairman  Carl McCall, the SUNY board of trustees and Chancellor Nancy Zimpher for their continued confidence and support."

Since 2008, Kaloyeros was considered a campus president in "full administrative, academic, and fiscal authority, fully comparable and equal to the authority exercised by a SUNY president in the administration," according to SUNY.

As president of SUNY Poly, Kaloyeros now oversees two campuses with 3,000 students and several manufacturing and research centers across the state — as well as an athletics department in Utica.

SUNY will pay Kaloyeros a salary of $490,000 as president of SUNY Poly, and he will receive the rest of his annual pay through the  SUNY Research Foundation or the SUNY Poly foundation.

During its meeting Tuesday, the board also appointed  Marion Terenzio as president of SUNY Cobleskill, Denise Battles as president of SUNY Geneseo and  Cathleen McColgin as president of  Herkimer County Community College

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