Albany – State University of New York Chancellor Nancy L.
Zimpher today announced she is recommending to the SUNY Board of Trustees that
Dr. David K. Lavallee be appointed as the interim provost of the SUNY System.
Subject to approval by the SUNY Board, Lavallee’s appointment
will be effective on Sept. 15 and he will not be a candidate for the permanent
position.
Most recently, Lavallee was provost and vice president for
Academic Affairs at the State
University of New York College at New Paltz, a position he held for 10
years prior to returning to the faculty at the end of July 2009.
As SUNY New Paltz’s provost, Lavallee oversaw the academic
deans of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Schools of Business,
Education, Fine and Performing Arts, Science and Engineering and the Graduate School,
as well as the deans of Academic Advising, Continuing and Professional
Education and International Programs.
He also supervised the director of the Sojourner Truth
Library on campus and the Offices of Sponsored Projects and Human Resources.
“David Lavallee earned the respect and admiration of his
peers across the SUNY system through a decade of hard work and much success as
provost of the College at New Paltz,” said Chancellor Zimpher. “SUNY is
fortunate to have a skilled academic administrator available as we conduct a
national search for a permanent provost and I look forward to presenting David
to the Board.”
It was Lavallee’s responsibility to hire faculty who will
educate the next generation of SUNY New Paltz students and to ensure that the
curriculum students study was current and well supported.
“A new job was the last thing on my mind as I ended my role
as provost at New Paltz in July, but the opportunity to be of service to the students
faculty and staff across the SUNY system is exciting,” said Lavallee. “I
am grateful for Chancellor Zimpher’s support and I look forward to meeting with
the SUNY Board of Trustees.”
As interim provost Lavallee will be an active participant in
the SUNY’s state-wide strategic planning process which will lead to the
development of a comprehensive multi-year plan for the University.
Lavallee will be directly responsible across the SUNY System
for program review and assessment; student mobility (transfer and
articulation), academic planning and analysis, diversity and educational
opportunity programs, veterans programs, faculty development and award
activities, and he will also serve as liaison to the Board of Trustees Academic
Affairs Committee.
Lavallee succeeds Dr. Risa I. Palm, who is now the senior
vice president for academic affairs and provost at Georgia State University.
About David K. Lavallee
Lavallee earned his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from
St. Bonaventure University in Allegany, N.Y., and his Master of Science and
Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Chicago in Chicago, Ill.
Lavallee’s research in bio-inorganic chemistry has produced
more than 60 peer-reviewed articles, two books and two patents. He has been
awarded more than $5 million in research and training grants from the National
Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and several other agencies
and foundations. He has been an invited speaker at more than 125 universities
and research centers in 11 countries and was a Fulbright senior research fellow
in Paris in 1986.
Lavallee has also served as a research collaborator or
consultant at several national laboratories, including Argonne in Chicago, Ill.,
Brookhaven in Upton, N.Y., and Los Alamos in Los Alamos, N.M. His teaching and
curriculum work has led to the Catalyst Award, a national award for chemistry
teachers, major grants from the Department of Education for science preparation
for teachers and from the National Science Foundation for high school
technology education.
Prior to his arrival at SUNY New Paltz, Lavallee was the
provost and senior vice president at The City College of New York in Manhattan,
a position he held since 1994. From 1978 to 1994, Lavallee was with Hunter College,
City University of New York, initially as a professor of chemistry and
biochemistry and then as associate provost. Before his tenure at Hunter, he was
an assistant professor at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colo.
About the State University of
New York
The State University of New York is the largest
comprehensive university system in the United States, educating some 440,000
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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Dr. Lavallee will earn a salary of $285,000 per year, a
housing allowance of $5,000 per month and will be provided with the use of an
automobile from the University vehicle pool.
