SUNY Board Names W. Hubert Keen President of Farmingdale

New York City – The State University of New York Board of Trustees today voted unanimously to name W. Hubert Keen, Ph.D., president of the State University of New York College of Technology at Farmingdale.

Recommending Dr. Keen to the Board of Trustees for the Farmingdale presidency was a great pleasure,” said SUNY Chancellor John R. Ryan. “Hubert possesses the strong character of a leader and has gained valuable experience from his many years of service in higher education. We look forward to great accomplishments from the students, faculty, staff and new president of Farmingdale.”

Chancellor Ryan also expressed his appreciation to the Farmingdale College Council and the search committee for their excellent work in bringing forward a very strong pool of candidates.  The chancellor also thanked Farmingdale Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer George LaRosa, who has been serving as officer-in-charge of the campus.

“Warm congratulations to Hubert are well in order,” said Board Chairman Thomas F. Egan.  “While the University has done great work attracting presidents to lead our campuses from all over the country, we still recognize internal talent and are very pleased to be promoting Hubert from within the University.”

“I am honored by the confidence of the Board of Trustees and Chancellor Ryan,” said Keen.  “Working with the students, faculty and staff of Farmingdale as president will be a great privilege, and I look forward to our meeting all of the challenges of a modern academic environment.”

Keen holds a doctorate in ecology from Kent State University.  Eastern Kentucky University granted Keen a Master of Science in biology, and he holds a Bachelor of Arts in biology from Pikeville College in Kentucky.

Keen will succeed Dr. Jonathan Gibralter, who served as president of Farmingdale from 2001 until August 2006, when he left to assume the presidency of Frostburg State University in Maryland.  George LaRosa, senior vice president and chief
financial officer, has been serving as Officer-in-Charge since August 2006.

Keen will be provided housing at the Farmingdale campus and will also have use of a campus-owned vehicle during the term of his presidency.

Keen has been serving as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Farmingdale since 2005 and enjoys wide support from the campus and external constituents such as the College Council and the College Foundation. 

Prior to serving as provost at Farmingdale, Keen served from 1999 to 2005 as special assistant to the provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at SUNY System Administration in Albany, New York. 

From 1998-1999 he served as the interim president at the State University of New York College at Old Westbury.  From 1994 -1998 Keen was provost and vice president for academic affairs at York College, City University of New York. 

Before working for CUNY, Keen spent 18 years rising through the ranks from coordinator of Environmental Science Programs to dean of Arts and Sciences at the State University of New York College at Cortland. 

The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive university system in the United States, educating more than 418,000 students in 7,669 degree and certificate programs on 64 campuses.