SUNY BOT Appoints Dr. Bjong Wolf Yeigh President of SUNYIT

Albany - The State University of New York Board of Trustees today appointed Dr. Bjong Wolf Yeigh (BEE-Young Yeah) as the permanent president of the SUNY Institute of Technology (SUNYIT) effective no later than August 1. 

 

An engineer by training, Dr. Yeigh is currently vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty at Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont. He received his education and training at Princeton and Stanford Universities, Dartmouth College and the United States Navy.

 

“Bjong Wolf Yeigh’s extensive background, experience and success in engineering and as an educator and administrator will benefit the SUNYIT campus and the greater Utica-Rome communities. He comes to SUNYIT bearing world-class credentials.” said Carl T. Hayden, Chairman of the SUNY Board of Trustees. “I am pleased to support his appointment and I am confident that the search committee and Interim Chancellor Clark have found the next great leader for SUNYIT.”

“Bjong Wolf Yeigh has the right blend of teaching, research and administrative skills needed to lead SUNYIT,” said SUNY Interim Chancellor Dr. John B. Clark. “I want to thank the SUNY IT Search Committee and the College Council for completing such a successful search.”

 

In addition to Norwich University, Dr. Yeigh has held important academic and administrative posts at St. Louis and Yale Universities and was a member of the faculty at Oklahoma State University.

 

“I am very grateful to have the opportunity to work with the students, faculty and staff of SUNYIT,” said Dr. Yeigh. “My heartfelt thanks go to the SUNYIT search committee, the college council, Interim Chancellor Clark and the SUNY Board of Trustees for placing their confidence in me.”

 
“We are thrilled Dr. Yeigh has become the president of SUNYIT,” said Patrick Brennan, chair of the SUNYIT College Council and the SUNYIT Presidential Search Committee.  “Dr. Yeigh’s passion for higher education and engineering and his accomplishments as an educator and administrator are a perfect fit for SUNYIT and we eagerly await his arrival on campus.”

 

Dr. Yeigh succeeds Dr. Peter Spina, who has been serving as Interim President since July 2004.

 

Interim Chancellor Clark said, “I would like to thank Peter Spina, who has been serving as interim president of SUNYIT, for his dedicated service and successful leadership of the campus.”

Dr. Bjong Yeigh

In his role as vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty at Norwich University, Dr. Yeigh is responsible for providing leadership to all academic and support programs.  He holds a tenured professorship in a joint appointment with the Mechanical Engineering Department and the School of Business and Management. 

 

Some of his many accomplishments at Norwich include, launching a number of new majors, establishing international cooperation programs with Australian Defense Force Academy, the Dublin Business School, and the Chinese Military Academy. He initiated a university retention plan and embedded outcomes assessment in university operations.

 

From 2003 to 2006, Dr. Yeigh served as dean of St. Louis University’s Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology where he was responsible for the management and oversight of seven departments including Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, Aviation Science, Biomedical Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Engineering Technology, and Physics.

 

During his service as dean of Parks College, Dr. Yeigh established fourteen new endowments, instituted the first Ph.D. degree program in Biomedical Engineering, optimized eight percent of the college budget without eliminating faculty slots, established international cooperative agreements with Cuidad del Saber in Panama and Hankuk Aviation University in Korea, and introduced an interdisciplinary doctoral program in Integrated and Applied Sciences.

 

Prior to his position at St. Louis University, Dr. Yeigh held the post of assistant provost for science and technology at Yale University (1999-2003), where he managed and oversaw academic facilities, research, budget and faculty programs in the natural and social sciences.  Before that position, he was an assistant professor at Oklahoma State University (1995-1999), and before that was a consultant with the World Bank in Washington, D.C. (1994-1995).

 

A veteran of the U.S. Navy (1987-1995), Dr. Yeigh served as a tactical intelligence officer for Fighter Squadron Seventy-Four (VF-74) aboard the USS Saratoga (CV-60) in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm.  In addition, he received highly specialized training at several U.S. Navy facilities including the “Top Gun” Navy Fighter Weapons School in Miramar CA.

 

Dr. Yeigh remains actively engaged in his own sponsored research as well as undergraduate research project supervision.  He has a number of publications and is involved with professional affiliations and community activities.

 

Dr. Yeigh earned his BA in engineering science from Dartmouth College, MS in mechanical engineering from Stanford University, graduate certificate in science and technology policy from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University, and MA and PhD in Civil Engineering and operations research from Princeton University. 

 

Dr. Yeigh will earn a salary of $185,000 per year and be provided with the use of a vehicle and a housing allowance of $4,000 per month.

 

About SUNYIT

SUNYIT is a high-tech campus located on 850 acres in a beautiful Upstate New York setting. As SUNY’s newest campus, it offers graduate and undergraduate degree programs in dozens of disciplines focusing on technology, professional studies, and the liberal arts. Founded in 1966, the campus currently enrolls more than 2,500 students.

 

About the State University of New York

The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive university system in the United States, educating more than 427,000 students in 7,669 degree and certificate programs on 64 campuses. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunity, visit www.suny.edu.

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