SUNY Chancellor Announces Leadership Changes at Canton and Potsdam

Presidential Searches for Each Campus to Follow Upcoming Appointments of Interim Presidents and Additional Shared Vice Presidents

Albany – State University of New York Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher today announced that SUNY Canton Interim President Carli Schiffner will be leaving her post effective July 31, 2013 as she takes on a new role as vice president of instruction at Wenatchee Valley College in Wenatchee, WA.

“Carli Schiffner has been a tireless advocate for SUNY Canton both as provost and interim president, and should be commended for her accomplishments,” said Chancellor Zimpher. “Dr. Schiffner’s guidance and her belief in shared services were of great benefit to both her campus and the entire system. We wish her success in her new role and know that Wenatchee Valley is getting a stellar academic leader in their new provost.”

“SUNY Canton and the Canton community are like my adopted family,” said Schiffner. “But, my family and I are also extremely excited about living just a short car ride from our children’s grandparents, who live in Washington. This was a very difficult decision for me to make, however, this is an opportunity that both personally and professionally I could not turn down. I would like to thank Chancellor Zimpher and the Board of Trustees for entrusting in me the role of interim president at a great institution in this great system.”

Together with SUNY Potsdam President John F. Schwaller, Schiffner has made great strides toward implementing a shared services model between the two campuses. Major successes in this area include the appointment of a shared chief financial officer – which allows for significant savings across many critical administrative services such as human resources and purchasing – as well as the appointment of a joint veterans affairs director to work with the significant military population in the area.

In light of this new development and the recent resignation of Schwaller, the SUNY Board of Trustees will receive recommendations from the Chancellor at an upcoming Board meeting for interim/acting presidents for each of Canton and Potsdam to be appointed before July 1, 2013.

In addition, SUNY Canton and SUNY Potsdam have announced three new joint administrative positions that will expand the shared services network between the schools, enhance academic and operational opportunities, and increase efficiencies at both campuses. These include a vice president for advancement and a chief information officer, to be in place by the end of the current semester; and a vice president for student affairs, the selection process for which will commence also by the end of the current semester.

With confidence that progress already made with shared services will continue, and that steps as outlined above will be taken for these three new shared positions, the Chancellor intends to initiate formal presidential searches for each of Canton and Potsdam in Fall 2013.

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 468,000 students in more than 7,500 degree and certificate programs on 64 campuses with more than 3 million alumni around the globe. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunity, visit www.suny.edu