President - State University of New York at Geneseo

SUNY Geneseo has been a higher education and community leader in Upstate New York for more than 150 years. Founded in 1871 as a normal and training school, Geneseo has evolved into a nationally recognized, distinctive residential liberal arts college with an extraordinary reputation and exciting future. Geneseo has perennially been named the top college in the region for undergraduate teaching by US News & World Report, a top producer of Fulbright US Student awards, and a best value college by numerous publications and websites. To further this tradition of excellence and to tackle the challenges facing higher education across the country, Geneseo seeks an innovative, enthusiastic, and accomplished president to lead it into the future.

As New York’s public honors college, Geneseo has as its core mission the drive to provide access to a diverse array of students and inspire them to develop their knowledge and skills in service of a better world. In addition to offering rigorous academics, Geneseo prepares its students to become responsible and engaged citizens who can assist the communities in which they live to become more diverse and inclusive, more globally aware, and more sustainable. This commitment is demonstrated in Geneseo’s strategic plan, called Redefining the Honors Experience: Centering Equity, Advancing Access, Embracing Innovation. It’s also demonstrated in Geneseo’s results: Geneseo has one of the top two highest four-year graduation rates among the 64 SUNY institutions and ranks in the top 15 in the nation among public institutions for its six-year graduation rates among Pell Grant recipients. It is among the top institutions of its type in the nation in the number of alumni with doctorates in STEM disciplines and the number of Peace Corps volunteers it produces.

The next president of Geneseo will arrive at an exciting and critical point in the college’s history. While Geneseo, and much of higher education, has experienced significant challenges during the past few years, the enthusiasm for Geneseo’s mission and history remains strong among its constituents. By exercising innovative and effective leadership, the next president can build on this enthusiasm to help Geneseo reach new levels of success. The Geneseo president fulfills a range of duties as chief executive officer, including articulating a vision for the future of the college; championing Geneseo’s academic vibrancy; implementing equitable and inclusive practices that create a culture of belonging; generating significant external resources for the college; and leading efforts to recruit, develop, engage, and retain diverse and exceptional faculty, staff, and students. In addition, the next president will address through bold leadership, clear vision, and transparent communication the fiscal challenges facing higher education and Geneseo and develop an overall strategic plan for addressing these challenges.

To accomplish this ambitious agenda, the Geneseo community seeks candidates with an entrepreneurial, innovative, and expansive vision for Geneseo’s future. They will have significant experience developing and executing long-term strategic plans that motivate and accelerate institutional success, as well as demonstrated success inspiring and galvanizing a community around their vision and plans. The next president will also bring an unwavering commitment to academic excellence with a track record of scholarly and creative leadership and a demonstrated history of working with multicultural populations. The next Geneseo president should also have significant business and financial acumen applied to a complex organization as well as a solid understanding of student enrollment. Finally, the successful candidate will demonstrate exceptional constituent engagement and public relations skills, particularly the ability to develop deep partnerships with a wide range of institutions and individuals that yield mutually beneficial and clear advantages This engagement should include donor and alumni relationships that will generate new financial commitments to the college and advocacy within the SUNY system and the state on behalf of Geneseo that preserves its position as the state’s public honors college.

All applications, nominations and inquiries are invited. Applications should include, as separate documents, a CV or resume, and a letter of interest addressing the themes in the leadership profile.

WittKieffer is assisting SUNY Geneseo in this search. For fullest consideration, candidate materials should be received by April 30.

Application materials should be submitted to WittKieffer’s candidate portal

Nominations and inquiries can be directed to: Greg Duyck, Melody Rose, Ph.D., and Sarah Seavey at: GeneseoPresident@wittkieffer.com

For more details, visit our Job Description and Leadership Profile