SUNY Welcomes New Board of Trustees Members

State Senate Confirms Trustees Henrik Normann Dullea, Richard Socarides, Angelo Fatta & Reappoints Marshall A. Lichtman

Albany – The State University of New York welcomed three new Board of Trustees members and applauded the reappointment of Trustee Marshall A. Lichtman, as confirmed today by the New York State Senate and previously nominated by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo.

Governor Cuomo said, “The State University of New York is quickly becoming a model for public higher education throughout the country and national models require extraordinary leadership. Today’s confirmations of Trustees Dullea, Socarides, Fatta, and Lichtman – together with the outstanding SUNY leadership of Chairman McCall and Chancellor Zimpher – will contribute to the system’s future success and benefit all New York State students. I commend the Senate for confirming these nominations.”

Each of the trustees have been appointed to a seven year term that begins July 1, 2012. The new trustees are:

Henrik Normann Dullea, Ph.D. – an experienced higher education and government administrator who has a long history with SUNY, as associate vice chancellor for employee relations and personnel in 1982; senior fellow at SUNY’s Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government from 1981-82; acting president of Purchase College from 1980-81; deputy to the SUNY chancellor from 1970-76; and executive assistant to the president at SUNY’s University at Buffalo from 1968-70. Dullea’s higher education service also includes serving SUNY’s statutorily-affiliated Cornell University since 1991, as vice president for university relations emeritus since 2006, and earlier as vice president for university relations from 1991 to 2003, and senior consultant to the president from 2003-05. Prior, Dullea served as director of state operations and policy management for the Governor from 1983-91; and as assistant secretary to the governor for education and the arts from 1976-80.

Richard Socarides – a New York attorney who has held senior positions in the media and entertainment sector, and government and law, as a media relations and communications executive, presidential adviser at the White House, and partner in a New York City law firm. Socarides was a White House advisor to President Bill Clinton from 1993-99, working on legal, policy, and political issues and serving as principle adviser on gay and lesbian civil rights issues. His currently serves as Of Counsel to the New York and Los Angeles law firm of Brady Klein & Weissman, where his practice focuses on litigation, family law, and civil rights.

Angelo Fatta, Ph.D. – founder and chief executive officer of ANSECO Group in Buffalo, NY. He was co-founder of ACTS Testing Labs, a global consumer products testing company specializing in toy safety, where he led ACTS from a small start-up operation in 1973 to an organization of more than 700 employees in 10 locations and six countries in 1998, when he sold the company. In 2009, he founded ANSECO Group, a consumer products testing laboratory specializing in toys, children’s products, and simple hardlines. He now oversees the company’s Buffalo laboratory, provides strategic direction to the company, and is a vital resource to clients seeking regulatory guidance and expertise in toy, premium, and consumer product safety. He is also chair of the University at Buffalo Foundation.

Board Chairman H. Carl McCall said, “Trustees Dullea, Socarides, and Fatta will bring tremendous experience, varied knowledge, and unique perspectives to the Board of Trustees and we are grateful to Governor Cuomo and the state senate for securing them a seat at our table. It is my pleasure to welcome them on behalf of the entire SUNY family.”

SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher said, “Each of the individuals appointed today bring different but equally critical backgrounds and expertise to our Board of Trustees. Their nomination by the governor and subsequent confirmation by the senate will help to ensure that SUNY continues to fulfill its mission of providing affordable and accessible higher education of the highest quality to college students in New York and around the globe.”

The Board of Trustees is the governing body of SUNY and consists of 18 members, 15 of whom are appointed by the Governor, by and with consent of the New York State Senate. In addition, the president of the Student Assembly serves as student trustee and the presidents of the University Faculty Senate and Faculty Council of Community Colleges serve as ex-officio trustees. SUNY Trustees serve on a voluntary basis without compensation.

About the State University of New York

The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive university system in the United States, educating nearly 468,000 students in more than 7,500 degree and certificate programs on 64 campuses with nearly 3 million alumni around the globe. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunity, visit www.suny.edu. 

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