Chairman H. Carl McCall Launches International Search for Next SUNY Chancellor

July 12, 2016

Search Committee Includes State & National Community Leaders, SUNY Student & Faculty Representatives

Albany – State University of New York Board of Trustees Chairman H. Carl McCall today announced the launch of an international search for SUNY’s next chancellor, following Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher’s recent announcement that she will step down from the post June 30, 2017.

"SUNY is not only one of New York’s greatest economic and intellectual assets, but over the last six years we have worked together to make this a national model of public higher education that our students deserve," Governor Andrew M. Cuomo said. "As the search for a new Chancellor commences, I have every confidence that the top-level search committee assembled by Chairman McCall will identify the best candidate to continue to build on the momentum started under Chancellor Zimpher and help lead SUNY to an even brighter future."

Chairman McCall will chair the search committee, which will begin its work immediately. Committee membership is intended to reflect the many constituencies that SUNY serves. It is comprised of SUNY trustees, including student and faculty representatives; SUNY campus presidents; leading philanthropist James H. Simons; and several prominent SUNY alumni with ongoing connections to SUNY, such as SEFCU President and CEO Michael Castellana, NBC Today Show Host Al Roker, and American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten.

"Building on Nancy Zimpher’s outstanding legacy of leadership, SUNY’s next chancellor will have a platform to continue to leverage the collective strengths of our campuses in order to lift up our students, faculty, and staff as well as all those served by SUNY in communities throughout New York State," said Chairman McCall. "We are eager to find a candidate who embodies this vision for SUNY.

"Leading SUNY’s 64-campus enterprise is both a unique challenge and an extraordinary opportunity," added Chairman McCall. "The composition of the search committee signals our intention to deepen SUNY’s commitment to New York State while expanding our global reach, influence, and leadership. I look forward to working with the committee as we conduct a rigorous international search that succeeds in attracting a highly-qualified and diverse pool of candidates."

The search committee, which held its first meeting yesterday, will be assisted by an executive search firm that will identify, recruit, and encourage potential candidates, review the qualifications of applicants, and verify the credentials of all finalists. A Request for Proposals (RFP) process to select this firm is ongoing, with an award anticipated this month. Information about the search, as well as the ability to provide feedback to the search committee, is available online.

Search committee members will serve on a voluntary basis without compensation. The committee will conclude its work by recommending to the SUNY Board of Trustees a short list of finalists. The Board will consider the finalists and then vote in public session to name the next SUNY chancellor.

Serving on the search committee are:

SUNY Trustees
  • H. Carl McCall, SUNY Board of Trustees Chairman
  • Joseph W. Belluck, SUNY Board of Trustees and Partner, Belluck & Fox LLP
  • Marc Cohen, Student Trustee, SUNY Board of Trustees and President of the SUNY Student Assembly
  • Peter L.K. Knuepfer, SUNY Board of Trustees, President of the University Faculty Senate and Associate Professor of Geological Sciences and Environmental Studies at Binghamton University
  • Eunice Lewin, SUNY Board of Trustees
  • Cary Staller, SUNY Board of Trustees, President of Staller Associates, Inc.
  • Carl Spielvogel, SUNY Board of Trustees
  • Nina Tamrowski, SUNY Board of Trustees, President of the Faculty Council of Community Colleges and Professor of Political Science at Onondaga Community College
SUNY Presidents
  • Michael Alfultis, President, SUNY Maritime College
  • Kristin G. Esterberg, President, SUNY Potsdam
  • Belinda S. Miles, President, Westchester Community College
  • Hunter R. Rawlings, III, Interim President, Cornell University
  • Satish Tripathi, President, University at Buffalo
Constituency Representatives
  • Michael Castellana, President & CEO, SEFCU, University at Albany ’84, ’92
  • John B. Fitzgibbons, Board Chair of the SUNY Research Foundation and Founder, Chairman & CEO of Basin Holdings
  • William (Brit) Kirwan, Chancellor Emeritus, University System of Maryland
  • Jim Malatras, Director of State Operations, New York State, University at Albany ’99, ’00, ‘08
  • Cesar A. Perales, Former Secretary of State, New York Department of State
  • Al Roker, Host and Weatherman, NBC’s Today Show, SUNY Oswego ’76
  • James H. Simons, Chairman, Simons Foundation
  • Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers, Cornell ILR ’80
  • Kathryn Wylde, President and CEO, Partnership for New York City

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.

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