
Dr. Lisa Vollendorf, incoming SUNY Empire State College president,began her tenure on July 1 at the college’s Saratoga Springs location.
Vollendorf will take over for Officer in Charge Nathan Gonyea, who will continue his work at the college as acting provost.
Vollendorf, who was selected by the SUNY Board of Trustees after an extensive national search, will be SUNY Empire’s sixth president since its founding in 1971.
“I am thrilled to be part of the SUNY Empire State College community,” she said. “As a leader in online and blended learning, SUNY Empire fills a very special niche in the higher-education landscape—one that is in more demand now than ever before. I look forward to building upon the college’s history of access and innovation and moving the institution forward in ways that benefit and empower our students and the communities in which they live across New York state and around the world.”
Prior to SUNY Empire, she served as interim provost and chief academic officer at the University of Northern Colorado. She also worked for 16 years in the California State University system at three campuses as a faculty member, department chair, academic senate chair, dean, and provost.