(GENESEO, New York – May 8,2019) Jim Malatras, the current president of the Rockefeller Institute of Government, today was named president of Empire State College by the SUNY Board of Trustees.

SUNY Chancellor Kristina Johnson recommended Malatras to the board at its regularly scheduled meeting, held today on the SUNY Geneseo campus.

“Dr. Malatras has dedicated his career to serving the state of New York, and he has a keen focus on public education as a path to ensure social mobility for our citizens,” said SUNY Chairman H. Carl McCall. “My congratulations to him as he prepares to meet the challenge of leading Empire State College to new levels of success.”

“Empire State College offers a highly individualized education and in doing so it provides a unique opportunity for a campus president,” said SUNY Chancellor Kristina M. Johnson. “We are confident in Dr. Malatras’ abilities to move the campus forward in its mission to provide a high-quality academic experience.”

“My congratulations to Jim Malatras,” said James W. Lytle, chairman of the Empire State College Council. “Jim will be an outstanding president and the members of the college council and I look forward to working with him and the entire SUNY Empire community, as we advance the mission of the college.

“I am most grateful for all the outstanding efforts of my colleagues on the Council and the members of the presidential search committee, who invested a great deal of time and effort and worked in a most professional and collegial fashion, as we considered an extraordinarily qualified and diverse field of candidates.

“Thanks to the dedication of the Committee and the Council, the work of Chancellor Johnson and her staff, and Chairman McCall and the board of trustees, SUNY Empire State College now has an outstanding new president in Jim Malatras.”

“I am extremely grateful for the support and confidence of Chairman Carl McCall, Vice Chair Merryl Tisch and the members of the board of trustees, and of SUNY Chancellor Kristina Johnson and her team, for providing me the opportunity to serve as president of SUNY Empire State College,” Malatras said. “I want to express my deep appreciation to the Empire State College Council and the presidential search committee, for their hard work and support, as well as the college’s faculty and staff for their extensive participation in the process.

“I am eager roll up my sleeves and confront the complex challenges before us. The sustainable careers of today and tomorrow require higher education and Empire State College is the model to meet our jobs challenge. The value of a college degree is being questioned by the public as never before. Now, more than ever, New York needs the flexibility, quality and support offered by SUNY Empire State College.

“Together we can solve the problems facing us and provide students with even greater flexibility and higher quality as they seek to improve their lives, the lives of their families and the communities where they live and work.”

About Jim Malatras

As president of the Rockefeller Institute of Government, he is leading the institute’s modernization effort to offer policymakers evidence-based policy analysis and recommendations on timely topics. He previously served as SUNY system administration’s vice chancellor for policy and chief of staff.

He has held several high-ranking positions in New York state government. Most recently, he served as director of state operations. He also served as Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s deputy secretary for policy management. Malatras served as the executive director of the New NY Education Reform Commission from 2012-2014.

Malatras holds a doctorate in political science from the Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the State University of New York at Albany where he received the Presidential Distinguished Doctoral Dissertation Award. He also holds master’s and bachelor’s of arts in political science from the University at Albany.

Malatras is the college’s fifth president since its founding in 1971.

His appointment is effective July 15, 2019.

About SUNY Empire State College

SUNY Empire State College educates more than 17,000 students in person, online and through a blend of both, at more than 30 locations in New York and at eight international sites worldwide. Together with one of SUNY Empire’s more than 1,300 faculty mentors, each student designs his or her own individualized pathway to a college degree that accommodates his or her schedule and awards credit for prior college-level learning. SUNY Empire awards more than 3,000 degrees annually and 94 percent of graduates stay in New York state. Today, more than 84,000 SUNY Empire alumni are entrepreneurs, veterans and active members of the military, professional athletes, teachers, medical professionals and leaders in their field, as well as in their communities. To learn more, visit www.esc.edu and follow the college on social media @SUNYEmpire.