Release
UAlbany Welcoming Board of Visitors
Contact: Catherine Herman (518) 437-4980
ALBANY, N.Y. (January 30, 2006) -- University at Albany President Kermit L. Hall today announced the formation of a special Board of Visitors to assess from a national perspective the University's future. The board, comprising 21 leaders in business and higher education from around the country, will help UAlbany as it seeks to advance itself as New York's premier public research university. Stephen R. Portch, Chairman Emeritus of the University System of Georgia, will serve as chair of the board.
"We welcome the objective and ideas of this distinguished group of leaders," said President Kermit L. Hall. "At this strategic point, their perspective and insight will help us test assumptions about ourselves and shape a comprehensive strategy that will position UAlbany among great universities in the U.S. and internationally as well. We are also grateful to Dr. Portch for his pledge to serve as Board chair."
The board will first convene in March 2006. Board members will be introduced to the campus community, and familiarized with the University's goals and initiatives. In early May, the Board will reconvene to review and respond to the proposed plans the University has developed.
"It is with great delight that I accept the invitation of President Hall and the University at Albany to serve as chair of its Board of Visitors," said Portch. "This entity will serve to support the University as it takes the necessary steps to help the school move forward as a leader in the higher education marketplace of today and tomorrow."
The Board of Visitors:
- Stephen R. Portch, Chairman Emeritus, University System of Georgia (Board Chair)
- Walter R. Allen, Allan Murray Cartter Professor of Higher Education and Professor of Sociology, Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, University of California, Los Angeles
- Gretchen Bataille, Interim Chancellor, North Carolina School of the Arts
- Charlotte Buchanan, Esq., Civic leader; founding chair, Albany-Tula Alliance; former chair of the State Commission on the Capital Region
- F. Albert Cotton, W.T. Doherty-Welch Foundation Chair, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University
- Terry Driscoll, Director of Athletics, College of William and Mary
- Mildred Garcia, President, Berkeley College
- William Graves, Senior Vice President for Academic Strategy, SunGard Collegis Inc.
- Kemal Guruz, former President of the Council of Higher Education, Turkey
- George Kennedy, Senior Managing Partner, High Peaks Venture Fund
- John L. King, Professor and Dean, School of Information Science, University of Michigan
- David P Y Lung, Professor and Head, Department of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong
- Herbert A. Lurie, retired Chairman, Merrill Lynch & Co. Global Financial Institutions Investment Banking Group
- James E. Morley Jr., President and CEO, National Association of College and University Business Officers
- Suzanne Ortega, Vice Provost and Dean, University of Washington Graduate School, Communications
- Harris Pastides, Vice President for Research and Health Sciences, University of South Carolina
- Roger Platt, MD, Assistant Commissioner, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York City
- Tracy L. Robinson-Wood, Professor, Counseling and Applied Educational Psychology, Northeastern University
- Stephen J. Rotella, President and COO, Washington Mutual
- Larry Sumney, President and CEO, The Semiconductor Research Corporation, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
- The Honorable Richard C. Wesley, Associate Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals Second Circuit
- John Zogby, President and CEO, Zogby International
