SUNY Board of Trustees Approves Campus Leadership Appointments for New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, Purchase College, and Suffolk Community College
September 25, 2019
Albany – The State University of New York Board of Trustees today approved campus leadership appointments for New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, Purchase College, and Suffolk Community College.
Purchase College President Emeritus, Thomas J. Schwarz
Following 17 years of distinguished service to Purchase College and SUNY, Thomas Schwarz is appointed president emeritus. Schwarz is credited with transforming the campus academically and financially, as well as committing student support that led to improved graduation rates and retention.
New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University Vice President for Statutory Affairs, Dr. Gabrielle Gaustad
Dr. Gaustad’s appointment as vice president for statutory affairs is effective immediately. She is the dean of the Inamori School of Engineering at Alfred University, and before that an associate professor in the Golisano Institute for Sustainability at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). At RIT, Dr. Gaustad conducted more than $2 million in sponsored research programs, graduating dozens of doctoral and masters students.
She holds a Ph.D. in material science and engineering and a master of science in computation for design and optimization from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a bachelor of science degree in ceramic engineering from Alfred University.
Suffolk County Community College Interim President, Louis J. Petrizzo
Louis Petrizzo is appointed interim president and will continue until September 25, 2020 or until further action by Suffolk County Community College Board of Trustees and SUNY’s Board of Trustees. As a senior level executive at Suffolk Community College, Petrizzo has provided expertise on organizational management, inter-governmental affairs, and policy development. He was appointed administrator-in-charge of the college in January 2019, and since December 2017, he also has served as executive vice president and general counsel.
Petrizzo earned his juris doctorate from the University of Toledo College of Law and his bachelor of arts from LeMoyne College.
About the State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state’s only college of optometry, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.4 million students amongst its entire portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.1 billion in fiscal year 2023, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit suny.edu.
Share this:
Holly Liapis
518-320-1311
Email the Office of Communications
