Executive Vice President for Administration Joseph Garcia joined the college in July 2017. His life trajectory, however, had been pointing him in the direction of SUNY Empire since he graduated high school and enlisted in the military.

At the time, he says, “College didn’t make sense financially or academically. It just wasn’t in the cards.” Eight years later, having climbed to the rank of E-5 (staff sergeant), he was overseeing a handful of other enlisteds who were taking college classes part time. They encouraged him to enroll, but Garcia continued to resist.

In the hope of shaking off one enlisted who was especially persistent, Garcia told him he had found a class he was interested in but couldn’t afford the $300 upfront cost. “I thought that would shut him up – that much money, he would understand. He was making less than me. He had four kids,” Garcia recalls. “The next morning, he walked over to my desk and lay down three 100-dollar bills, and said ‘Okay, now what’s your excuse?’”

Garcia went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and two master’s degrees, in business administration and leadership, as a working adult student. He spent 28 years in the United States Air Force, ultimately reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel. Before coming to SUNY Empire, he served as chief financial officer at The Citadel Military College of South Carolina, FEMA’s Hurricane Katrina Gulf Coast Recovery Office in New Orleans, the Food Safety and Inspection Service Agency and at the Air Force Aid Society headquarters. An expert in leadership development, Garcia taught leadership courses at both the Air Force Academy and The Citadel and has authored three books on the topic.

“It was through education – by getting my education as a part-time working adult student – that I was able to achieve some career goals that I never would have met without that opportunity,” Garcia says. “My own journey in higher education definitely led me to SUNY Empire. Having been one myself, I can really appreciate what we do for part-time adult students. I wanted to continue to be a part of it, to give back in some way.”

Garcia plans to get back to teaching this fall, so that he can continue to interact with students, while also experiencing the college from a faculty perspective.