President of SUNY Purchase resigns

Milagros Peña, the president of SUNY’s Purchase College, has resigned. She plans to remain at the school through the end of the current semester. In May of 2020, Pena was selected by the SUNY’s Board of Trustees to serve as the school’s 6th president.

Prior to joining Purchase College, Peña served as Dean of the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences and Professor of Sociology and Ethnic Studies at the University of California Riverside.

Before joining UC Riverside, Peña spent 16 years at the University of Florida, where she served as faculty, the Director of the Center for Women’s Studies and Gender Research, and ultimately serving as the Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

She received her doctorate and master’s degree in Sociology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Peña also earned her BA from Iona. Peña has authored several books and numerous journal articles.

In an email message sent to the Purchase College community, Peña said, “This afternoon, I was proud to address my colleagues at Convocation to celebrate the accomplishments of our faculty and staff and to discuss the state of the college.

“I also made a personal announcement that I am now sharing with the full campus community.

“It has been an honor to serve as President of Purchase College over the past four years. After considerable reflection and discussion about what is best for me and my family, I informed Chancellor King over the summer that this 2024-2025 academic year will be my last year as President. I have mixed emotions about my decision to retire as president after the spring semester, because, though we still face challenges as a community, we have accomplished a great deal together and our shared mission of providing access to a high quality, transformative public education is as important as ever.

“We are now beginning to see the early fruits of our work toward financial stability, and the timing is appropriate to pass the torch. I am confident that our leadership will continue to work diligently in the best interest of our students, faculty, staff, and the wider community.

“After my time here at Purchase College, I look forward to retiring from administration, but not from academia. I started my career as a sociologist focusing on social movements and I’m eager to finish a book I started writing several years ago. I will continue to give invited talks and lead workshops to support organizations and efforts that have been dear to my heart as an advocate for diversity at all levels of higher education. I also will continue to live close by as a member of the local community and I will proudly support Purchase and the SUNY system that launched my own career.

“We still have a lot to do before I step away, and I look forward to working together to ensure that Purchase College continues to thrive.”