Some Administrative Appointments

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To the Members of the University at Albany Community:

 

I am pleased to announce three senior administrative appointments. First, I have asked Dr. Susan Phillips to serve as the Provost and VicePresident for Academic Affairs. Over the past year, Dr. Phillips hasprovided outstanding leadership and direction in advancing the academicmission of the University in her capacity as Interim Provost and VicePresident for Academic Affairs. It is clear that Dr. Phillips' manystrengths and vast experience have been instrumental in carrying out theimportant responsibilities of the Provost - a view widely shared in thecampus community. During the past year, Dr. Phillips has advanced a number of criticalinitiatives, including the "Going Forward Plan," an initiative that hasdrawn together our university community to establish a set ofconsensually derived priorities and directions to help guide theUniversity over the next several years. In addition, she advanced theFirst Year Experience Task Force, and the Steering Committee onCommunity Engagement. Further, Dr. Phillips has also assisted inaddressing our budget challenges by providing leadership for the BudgetAdvisory Group (BAG) - a committee I recently formed to provide theUniversity with a framework to make well-informed decisions regardingthe impact of the budget reductions currently facing our campus. Dr. Phillips comes to this position from a background in Human Biology(B.A., Stanford University), Psychology (M.A., Teachers College,Columbia University), and Counseling Psychology (Ph. D., ColumbiaUniversity). She is an internationally recognized scholar in vocationalpsychology whose work has focused on decision-making and careerdevelopment. She has also been instrumental in creatingcross-disciplinary initiatives, including developing research capacityfor university-community partnerships through the NIH-sponsored Centerfor the Elimination of Minority Health Disparities, and leadingpublic-private partnerships designed to study best practice in schools.Active in promoting excellence in academic programs and professionalpractice, she has led the American Psychological Association Committeeon Accreditation - one of the largest accrediting agencies in thenation. She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, alicensed psychologist, and was named the 1998 Distinguished Psychologistby the Psychological Association of Northeastern New York. I am confident that Dr. Phillips will continue to provide the steadfastleadership and commitment necessary to move forward the University's academic vision and strategic priorities with great insight and rigor,coupled with a collegial and cooperative spirit.

 

Second, I have asked Ms. Catherine Herman to serve as Vice President forCommunications and Marketing. While in her role as Interim VicePresident, Ms. Herman provided pivotal leadership in successfullyimplementing the university's public relations and marketing programs.Over the past several years she has implemented a number ofaward-winning initiatives that have improved campus communications amongboth internal and external University constituents. Ms. Herman's experience spans higher education, government and thenon-profit sector. She has also developed and implemented successfulmarketing and public relations programs at the New York State Departmentof Health, Albany Law School, the University of Missouri-Columbia andthe Metropolitan Opera in New York City. In addition, she has worked incommercial television at EUE/Screen Gems - a division of ColumbiaPictures. I have no doubt that Ms. Herman will continue to advance an innovativecommunications and marketing strategy that will successfully promote theuniversity and improve its visibility in the national media.

 

Third, I have asked Fardin Sanai to serve as the Vice President forUniversity Development. Over the past year, Mr. Sanai has done a superbjob in revitalizing the fundraising operations of the University. Mr.Sanai will continue to leverage his extensive development experiencewithin SUNY and other institutions in private higher education for thebetterment of the University and its mission of excellence. Before joining the University at Albany, Mr. Sanai served as Senior VicePresident for Development and Foundation Operations at Albany MedicalCenter where he oversaw fundraising for both the college and hospital.Prior to Albany Medical Center, he served as Vice President ofInstitutional Advancement and Executive Director of the Foundation atthe State University of New York at Cobleskill. In this position, heoversaw development, alumni relations, grants and sponsored programs,publications and public relations, and all aspects of foundationoperations. I am certain that Mr. Sanai will continue to provide the vision andcommitment needed to successfully lead the critical development effortsof our campus into the future.

 

Please join me in extending warm congratulations to Dr. Phillips, Ms.Herman and Mr. Sanai.

 

Sincerely yours,

George M. Philip

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