SUNY Oneonta Announces
President Will Retire In ’18
ONEONTA – SUNY Oneonta President Nancy Kleniewski has announced her plan to retire from the college in July 2018.
She informed members of the College Council and other campus leadership groups before communicating her decision to members of the campus community and parents of students via email earlier today, according to a press release.
“SUNY Oneonta is a wonderful institution, and I am honored to have had the opportunity to serve as president,” she was quoted as saying in the announcement.
“The hard work of the faculty and staff continues to strengthen the college academically and keep our students prepared for the future,” she said . “I am grateful to our alumni and other donors whose scholarships keep the cost of college reasonable. Most of all, I have enjoyed many opportunities to meet students, and see them grow and thrive here.”
Inaugurated as the seventh president of SUNY Oneonta on Sept. 12, 2008, Kleniewski led the development and implementation of the college’s first strategic plan in 2010 and its successor in 2015. She increased investment in teaching, learning and scholarship, founding five schools and adding roughly $17 million more to academic budgets over nine years.
Philanthropy gained new prominence during Kleniewski’s tenure. Possibilities Full of Promise: the 125th Anniversary Campaign for SUNY Oneonta, which concluded in June 2015, was the largest campaign in the college’s history. The four-year effort pushed the college endowment past the $50-million mark.
Kleniewski explained that today’s announcement, well in advance of stepping down, will allow the college ample time to coordinate and conduct a search for her successor, ensuring a smooth transition to a new president. SUNY follows a specific procedure for conducting presidential searches at state-operated campuses.
Kleniewski will continue to lead the campus until her departure next year. Consistent with SUNY protocol, it is expected that a presidential search committee will be named in the coming weeks.
