Press-Republican

Local News

Related Photos

  • University of Cincinnati President Nancy Zimpher, left, and New York Gov. David Paterson smile during a news conference in Albany, N.Y., Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009. Zimpher will become the State University of New York's first woman president on June 1 and says her five-year goals include better coordinating the resources of the 64-campus system, trying innovative ways to make college affordable for middle class families, and potentially raising SUNY's standing in big-time collegiate sports. Mike Groll

    ppr-SUNY_Zimpher

  • Mike Groll

    SUNY Chancellor

Discussion

IMPORTANT: Comments that include a personal attack on other commenters will be deleted in their entirety. Your comments are not welcome here if you can't maintain a civil tone.

PLEASE NOTE: There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

ALSO NOTE: Derisive name-calling of an individual or group will result in the entire comment being deleted. This includes the terms "stupid" and "idiot" and similar references.

Welcome to our new online comments feature. Before you can join the discussion, you must first register with Disqus and verify your email address.

Once you do, your comments will post after they have been reviewed by a moderator.

We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean.

Not all comments are deemed printable. Some are disqualified, at the newspaper’s discretion, for a number of reasons. Here are some typical practices to avoid in trying to get your comment printed:

There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

Don’t state as a fact something that is unsubstantiated or that our editors wouldn't know to be true.

Don’t presume someone’s guilt in a case when it hasn't been established by a court.

Don’t assail or impugn an identifiable individual or group. If you have that kind of criticism, sign your name and submit it as a Letter to the Editor. (There is some leeway on this in connection with public officials, but it is not unconditional.)

Don’t use profanity. This includes the term “tea bagger.”

Don’t be incendiary or tasteless. Those qualities are subjective, of course, and our editors will be the arbiters.

Do not identify yourself in the main content area of the article content form. Only by enforcing this rule can the moderators prevent unscrupulous commenters from falsely identifying themselves as someone they are not.

Don't type in all caps. It is considered the Internet equivalent of shouting.

In sports articles, do not criticize officiating.

Remember, moderators are not allowed to edit any article comments. If an article comment fails any of the above criteria, the entire comment will be deleted.

We monitor comments Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Approval of comments outside these times may be delayed.
comments powered by Disqus
February 11, 2009

New chancellor wants SUNY system to be 'global model'

By MICHAEL GORMLEY

ALBANY — A Midwestern academic named to lead the State University of New York said Tuesday she will work to bring the system to the nation's top research echelons, while keeping tuition affordable and just maybe grabbing some more exposure on ESPN.

University of Cincinnati President Nancy Zimpher said she's committing at least five years to the SUNY chancellor job, which will pay her $545,400 a year in total compensation to lead the nation's largest state university system. She becomes SUNY's first woman chancellor on June 1.

"Five years hence, I would hope that people see this as the best public higher education system in the country, as a global model and that we have learned to work together to create a positive impact and also to be efficient and to be accountable," she said in an interview.

The Board of SUNY Trustees approved Zimpher with a vote Tuesday. Her selection comes after a national search of more than a year.

"We will have a chancellor who recognizes the critical role that public higher education — and particularly our research universities — play in building a knowledge-based economy, and who has the experience and acumen to advance this role in significant ways," said University at Buffalo President John Simpson, who was on the search committee.

Zimpher said more state funding — as well as federal and private sector funding — are needed to reach the SUNY board's goal of reaching the top levels of high technology, scientific and other research.

She said the effort should continue despite the state's fiscal crisis, which is forcing billions of dollars more in taxes and fees to address a $13 billion deficit.

"I really believe that putting off and waiting is inappropriate in challenging times," she said. "I think you have to keep investing so that when the economy turns — and of course I hope we're a contributor to that turn — we're ready."

She also said SUNY can learn from innovations in Michigan and Colorado to leverage private sector and government funds to bridge the gap between traditional financial aid and the quickly rising cost of higher education.

"If you are asking are there answers to the affordability question, I believe there are," Zimpher said.

She is also open to boosting SUNY's image through bigger time sports, the way public universities in California, North Carolina and other states have.

"I am totally steeped in both the benefits of collegiate athletics and the challenge, and the balance that needs to be created," said Zimpher. In 2005, she famously forced out Cincinnati's popular basketball coach over what she considered a character issue after he was charged with drunken driving.

SUNY has no campus with the major sports reputation of Syracuse University, a private institution that has a long history of national television coverage in basketball and football against the country's top universities.

"If there is an appetite for advancing the athletics in some sites around some particular sports, not all sports across the board, I would be a good listener," said Zimpher, who has served as a Big East conference representative on the NCAA board.

Trustees at Cincinnati twice extended her contract to run through 2012 and credited her with raising the school's academic profile, building enrollment and donor support, and improving finances. Cincinnati has 37,000 students compared to SUNY's 500,000 students on 64 campuses.

Besides her pay, Zimpher will get the use of SUNY apartments in Manhattan and in Albany as well as a car and driver.

Her husband of 20 years, Kenneth Howey, will also get a part-time position that she said is yet to be determined. He is a research professor at the University of Cincinnati and has written books with Zimpher on urban education.

SUNY released data showing at least 10 other public universities pay their top administrator hundreds of thousands of dollars a year more.

Zimpher will replace John O'Connor, the vice chancellor and secretary, who was named interim chancellor in December. He replaced interim John Clark, who stepped in when John Ryan, a former U.S. Navy admiral and superintendent of the Naval Academy, resigned in May 2007 after two years on the job. Before that, SUNY was headed for five years by Robert King.

There was no immediate comment on Zimpher by the union representing SUNY workers or from other state officials.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Local News

North Country Scenes


Click on photo to view gallery with latest photos

FYI...
  • 130511_NT_JVA_boat 'Ghost ship' offered to highest bidder

    The mysterious death of the owner of a sailboat, found without anyone on board last fall, has not deterred the coastal city of Newburyport, Mass., from offering the sloop for sale on a municipal auctiion website.

    May 18, 2013 1 Photo