Who Should Run SUNYIT?

Who should run SUNYIT? That's the question being considered right now as the search continues for a new college president. The race seems to be coming down to four names [which I have linked to the results of Google searches]: Dr. Jerry W. Samples, Dr. Charles R. Westgate, Sr., Dr. Matthew C. Cordaro, and Dr. Bjong Wolf Yeigh.

Why am I excited over who may become SUNYIT president?

A dynamic academic leader can do wonders for the economy of a community (e.g. Dr. Alain Kaloyeros, VP and Chief Admin. Officer of the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at U. Albany, who was the moving force in making the Capital District the nano-research center it has become).

If you click on the links above, one candidate seems to stand out: Dr. Cordaro, who is the Director of the Center for Management Analysis at L.I.'s C.W. Post College. He not only has management experience in academia, he has extensive private sector experience as well . . . in the field of power generation.

With the NYRI powerline looming and the high cost of power dragging on our economy, power is a make-or-break issue for us. With the strategic center of the State's power grid sitting literally footsteps from the SUNYIT campus door, having a gentleman with Dr. Cordaro's credentials as an area resident might open opportunities for synergies, and make the facilities here work to our advantage. An op-ed piece he did for the Times last year certainly seems consistent with Greater Utica's interests, and not only shows a willingness to take issues to the people, but an ability to make them understandable. He also does not seem to be afraid to mix-it-up with the people in charge.

It will be interesting to see if he is selected.