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Zimpher named SUNY chancellor
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University of Cincinnati president Nancy Zimpher takes over the reins of SUNY on June 1.
The SUNY Board of Trustees Tuesday voted unanimously to name University of Cincinnati President Nancy L. Zimpher as the 12th chancellor of the SUNY system. The appointment is effective June 1.
Zimpher, who would be the first woman to head SUNY, replaces John Ryan, who stepped down as chancellor in May 2007.
President John B. Simpson, who served as a member of the chancellor search committee, said he welcomes the appointment of Zimpher.
“In Nancy Zimpher, 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.” Simpson said. “I look forward to working with her, and with my SUNY colleagues across the state, to pursue this vision.”
Zimpher, 62, became Cincinnati's 25th president, and its first woman president, when taking over the school of 37,000 students in October 2003.
Prior to going to Cincinnati, Zimpher served as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee from 1998 to 2003 and was the executive dean of the Professional Colleges and dean of the College of Education at the Ohio State University in Columbus.
Zimpher holds a bachelor’s degree in English education and speech, a master’s degree in English literature, and a Ph.D. in teacher education and administration in higher education, all from the Ohio State University.
In media interviews published Tuesday before her appointment, she supported implementation of a rational tuition policy that would provide small, annual tuition increases to help fund SUNY campuses, and said she intends to develop a strategic plan for SUNY after consulting with system stakeholders.
She also pledged to visit all 64 campuses in the system in the first few months of her tenure.
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