From the President
Posted: Monday, August 3, 2009Dear Friends and Colleagues,
This message is my first to the campus community as interim president, a post I was pleased to assume on August 1. Greetings from Cleveland Hall 517!
We will all miss our colleague and friend, Dr. Muriel Howard, who has left to become president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities in Washington, D.C. But the priorities for Buffalo State that emerged during her tenure—and were affirmed during the transition planning—will remain strong: a primary focus on students and their success; continued work on strategic plan implementation in support of the college’s mission, vision, and core values; and building the Buffalo State community through events and other interactions.
I am honored to begin the work of extending that legacy, and I will call upon you, the lifeblood of this great college, to help me do that in the months ahead.
While I am in the President’s Office, Dr. Kevin Railey will be the interim provost. He will serve as Buffalo State’s chief academic officer until our next president is named. Dr. Railey, who is associate provost and dean of the Graduate School, is well prepared for the interim role.
In addition to naming an interim provost, I have made the following appointments:
-Dr. Paul Theobald, Woods-Beals Endowed Chair and professor, will serve as interim dean of the Graduate School.
-Dr. Rosalyn Lindner, associate vice president for assessment and curriculum, will serve as the Buffalo State accreditation liaison officer to the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
-Mr. Ted Turkle, director of the Research Foundation, will serve as interim operations manager for the Buffalo State College Research Foundation.
This is a time of transition for Buffalo State College. It is not, however, a time of stagnation or water-treading. We have beneath us a firm foundation—one that we all built together—and we will look to extend the good works already in progress, to create and to seize new opportunities, and work, as a community, to ensure that the days before us are even brighter than those that have passed.
Thanks to you all, in advance, for making this time of transition a time of continued health and vibrancy for Buffalo State College. Your effort and enthusiasm make all the difference.
Yours sincerely,
Dennis K. Ponton
Interim President
We will all miss our colleague and friend, Dr. Muriel Howard, who has left to become president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities in Washington, D.C. But the priorities for Buffalo State that emerged during her tenure—and were affirmed during the transition planning—will remain strong: a primary focus on students and their success; continued work on strategic plan implementation in support of the college’s mission, vision, and core values; and building the Buffalo State community through events and other interactions.
I am honored to begin the work of extending that legacy, and I will call upon you, the lifeblood of this great college, to help me do that in the months ahead.
While I am in the President’s Office, Dr. Kevin Railey will be the interim provost. He will serve as Buffalo State’s chief academic officer until our next president is named. Dr. Railey, who is associate provost and dean of the Graduate School, is well prepared for the interim role.
In addition to naming an interim provost, I have made the following appointments:
-Dr. Paul Theobald, Woods-Beals Endowed Chair and professor, will serve as interim dean of the Graduate School.
-Dr. Rosalyn Lindner, associate vice president for assessment and curriculum, will serve as the Buffalo State accreditation liaison officer to the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
-Mr. Ted Turkle, director of the Research Foundation, will serve as interim operations manager for the Buffalo State College Research Foundation.
This is a time of transition for Buffalo State College. It is not, however, a time of stagnation or water-treading. We have beneath us a firm foundation—one that we all built together—and we will look to extend the good works already in progress, to create and to seize new opportunities, and work, as a community, to ensure that the days before us are even brighter than those that have passed.
Thanks to you all, in advance, for making this time of transition a time of continued health and vibrancy for Buffalo State College. Your effort and enthusiasm make all the difference.
Yours sincerely,
Dennis K. Ponton
Interim President
