The Daily Bulletin Archive

SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher announced today that she will recommend the appointment of Dr. Aaron Podolefsky as the next president of Buffalo State College at the March 23, 2010, meeting of the SUNY Board of Trustees. Podolefsky was the overwhelming choice of the Presidential Search Advisory Committee and College Council following a national search. If approved by the board, Podolefsky’s appointment would be effective July 1, 2010.

Podolefsky currently serves as president and professor of anthropology at the University of Central Missouri, a position he has held since 2005. His efforts to reach out to local, state, and federal government entities and support development of an Innovation and Energy Park at the university have been recognized as significantly promoting economic development in the region. In close collaboration with his campus, he successfully led the development of a new Strategic Plan and a new Campus Master Plan, and also led the university through the transition to adopt a new vision, a new name, and a new crest.

“Dr. Podolefsky has led the University of Central Missouri with great distinction as the campus reached record-setting levels of academic quality and job placement and is now experiencing the highest graduation rate in its history,” said Zimpher.

“As a successful higher education leader with strategic planning know-how and a proven knack for cultivating campus-community partnerships and economic development, Dr. Podolefsky will be a tremendous asset to Buffalo State College, Western New York, and the SUNY system.”

“The search committee and the College Council are extremely pleased that Chancellor Zimpher has selected Dr. Aaron Podolefsky to serve as the next president of Buffalo State College,” said Howard Zemsky, vice chair of the College Council and chair of the search committee. “We are hopeful the SUNY Board of Trustees will ratify this decision at their meeting next week.

“Dr. Podolefsky embraces the importance of so many of our vital missions and values including education, research, service learning, accessibility, and diversity. We believe Aaron will continue the record of outstanding leadership we have enjoyed the past 14 years under Dr. Muriel Howard and Dr. Dennis Ponton. We all believe Buffalo State College will continue to flourish under the leadership of Dr. Aaron Podolefsky. This is very good news for Buffalo State College and our entire community.”

“Ronnie and I are very excited to be joining the Buffalo State family and supporting Chancellor Zimpher in achieving her ambitious goals for SUNY,” said Podolefsky. “I was greatly impressed by the faculty, staff, and students that I met on campus—they are clearly a major strength. Special thanks are owed to the search committee, who represented the campus in a most positive fashion, and especially to Howard Zemsky and Dr. Bonita Durand, who worked tirelessly to ensure a successful process.”

Prior to his tenure at the University of Central Missouri, Podolefsky served for seven years as provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI). Before that, he served for eight years as dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at UNI. From 1986 to 1990, he was professor of anthropology and head of Western Kentucky University’s Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work. Prior to this position, he served as associate chair and associate professor of anthropology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at West Virginia University, and was a research associate for the Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research at Northwestern University.

Podolefsky earned a bachelor of arts degree in mathematics from San José State University and two master of arts degrees, in liberal studies and anthropology, and a Ph.D. with distinction in anthropology from Stony Brook University. He has authored numerous scholarly books, textbooks, and articles, and he is a fellow of the American Anthropological Association and the Society for Applied Anthropology.

He is married to Ronnie (Shapiro) Podolefsky, an attorney practicing in the areas of civil rights, employment law, and mediation. They have two sons.

Podolefsky would succeed Dennis Ponton, who has been serving as interim president since August 1, 2009, when Muriel Howard, who had been president since 1996, stepped down to assume the presidency of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities in Washington, D.C.

Podolefsky would earn an annual salary of $225,000. He would also be provided college-owned housing adjacent to the Buffalo State campus and would also have use of a campus-leased vehicle during the term of his presidency.