Three potential candidates to replace SUNY New Paltz President Steve Poskanzer, who left to accept the president”™s position at Carleton College in Minnesota, have all withdrawn their applications, leaving one applicant in the running.
Ken Abt, chair of the search committee and New Paltz College Council, announced the search will continue until additional candidates are identified, vetted and forwarded as finalists to SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher.
Abt said in a statement that because only one candidate remains under consideration for the post, Zimpher has asked the council to continue the search.
“The SUNY Board of Trustees has made it very clear that my highest priority as chancellor is to ensure continued excellence from our campus presidents,” Zimpher said in a statement. “SUNY New Paltz is an outstanding institution and deserves the very best leadership possible. The candidates that have been forwarded to me have been of the highest quality, but it is essential that the next president is appointed based on his or her distinction and fit with this campus.”
According to Abt, “We will move forward with our search as designated by the chancellor. I want to publicly thank the search committee and college council for their input and thoughtful contributions in order to move this critical process forward.”
Interim President Donald Christian was appointed by the SUNY Board of Trustees in June 2010 to serve until July 201 or until a successor is appointed by the board. Zimpher praised Christian for his leadership during the search process, a post in which he will continue until a new president is found.
New Paltz, along with its sister colleges in the system, did get some needed relief from the new 2011-12 state budget. With $272 million in funding restored, SUNY students and their respective schools won”™t be hit too hard. There”™s still some question as to how much the individual counties are willing to commit to their colleges in their own budget.
