M E M O R A N D U M


							March 23, 2010


To:	Members of the Board of Trustees 	

From:	Nancy L. Zimpher, Chancellor

Subject:	Appointment of Aaron M. Podolefsky as President � the State University of New York - Buffalo State College

           I recommend that the Board of Trustees adopt the following resolution.

Resolved that the appointment of Aaron M. Podolefsky as President of Buffalo State College, at a state salary of $225,000, effective July 1, 2010, be and hereby is, approved. 

Background

        I am pleased to recommend your approval of the appointment of Dr. Aaron M. Podolefsky as President of the State University of New York - Buffalo State College effective July 1, 2010.  Dr. Podolefsky will succeed Dr. Dennis Ponton who has been serving as interim president since August 1, 2009 when Dr. Muriel Howard who had been president since 1996 stepped down to assume the presidency of The American Association of State Colleges and Universities in Washington, DC.  
        
        After conducting a national search that attracted strong candidates, Dr. Podolefsky was the overwhelming choice of the Buffalo State College Presidential Search Committee and Council.
        
	Dr. Podolefsky will be provided College-owned housing adjacent to the Buffalo State College campus and will also have use of a campus-leased vehicle during the term of his presidency.

	Dr. Podolefsky currently serves as president and professor of Anthropology at the University of Central Missouri, a position he has held since 2005.  During his tenure as President, Podolefsky is credited with significantly raising the university�s academic profile, evidenced by setting university records for the highest quality first-year student class, highest graduation rate, and highest job placement rate in the institution�s history.  He has been very successful at cultivating constituencies and identifying innovative sources of external funding.  His efforts to reach out to local, state, and federal governmental entities and supporting development of an Innovation and Energy Park at the University have been recognized as significantly promoting economic development in the region.  In close collaboration with his campus, he successfully led the development of a new Strategic Plan and a new Campus Mater Plan, and also led the University through the transition to adopt a new vision, a new name, and new crest.

	Prior to his tenure at the University of Central Missouri, Dr. Podolefsky served for seven years as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI), and before that he served for eight years as Dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at UNI.  From 1986 � 90, he was professor of anthropology and head of Western Kentucky University�s Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work.  Prior to this position he served as associate chair and associate professor of anthropology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at West Virginia University, and was a research associate for the Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research at Northwestern University.

	Dr. Podolefsky earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from San Jose State University and received two Mater of Arts degrees (liberal studies and anthropology), and a Ph.D with Distinction from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.  He has authored numerous scholarly books, textbooks and articles.  He is a fellow of the American Anthropological Association, and the Society for Applied Anthropology

	Dr. Podolefsky is married to Ronnie Podolefsky (Shapiro), an attorney practicing in the areas of civil rights, employment law, and mediation.  Dr. and Mrs. Podolefsky have two sons.  
        
	A copy of Dr. Podolefsky�s curriculum vitae is attached.


Attachment



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Board Resolution		March 23, 2010