Job Details

Presidential Search

SUNY Corning Community College, a comprehensive community college that recognizes, embraces, and celebrates the changing future for students and communities, seeks an engaging, strategic, and proactive President to lead the College as it continues to build a socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable academic enterprise dedicated to transforming the lives of its students, strengthening communities, and inspiring success that lasts a lifetime.

The Institution: SUNY Corning Community College (SUNY CCC), founded in 1957, offers certificates, associate degrees, micro-credentials, and non-credit courses in a variety of formats, including in-person, hybrid, and online. It is one of two regional community colleges in the State University of New York (SUNY) system. The primary service area includes Chemung, Schuyler, and Steuben Counties in the southern Finger Lakes region of New York, with approximately 210,000 people. Through 153 full- and part-time faculty and 152 full- and part-time staff, the College currently provides credit coursework for more than 4,400 students, 60% of which are dual enrollment. Approximately 70% of students are focused on transfer opportunities, and 30% pursue workforce opportunities. New offerings at the College include an Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) and Prison Education Program. The two academic divisions deliver over thirty programs. SUNY CCC maintains strong partnerships with business and industry, including Corning Inc., to further opportunities for students through career opportunities and philanthropic support. The College has an operating budget of $26 million. SUNY CCC is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, last reaffirmed in 2024, and is governed by a fourteen-member Regional Board of Trustees.

SUNY CCC's strong commitment to student success is evident in high standards, academic support, performance measurement, and innovation. SUNY CCC boasts the highest three-year graduation rate of any community college within the SUNY system and exceeds national averages. The faculty, staff, and administration work closely and cooperatively through a collegial governance system. Equity and student success are priorities at all levels.

Current initiatives include building upon a Guided Pathways framework, from prospective student inquiry to graduation; new programming in STEAM and a STEAM Innovation Center; new state-of-the- art Makerspaceand Mechatronics laboratories; adding allied healthcare programs; and incorporating energy retrofits to campus buildings, through a public/private partnership with Siemens, Inc. Additional exciting aspects of the institution include the Digital Dome, Eileen Collins Observatory, Spencer Crest Nature and Research Center, Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society chapter, and ties to the Rockwell Museum. In addition to its main campus, the College also offers programming at the Airport Corporate Park facility in Horseheads, the Workforce Education & Academic Pathways location in Elmira, and the Health Education Center for Nursing in Corning. The College actively pursues grant opportunities for pedagogical innovation at the local, state, and federal levels. To learn more about Corning Community College, please visit www.corning-cc.edu.

The Position: Reporting to the Corning Community College Regional Board of Trustees, the President is responsible for the overall operation and administration of the College as well as promoting the educational effectiveness of the institution. The President leads and empowers the President's Senior Staff comprised of the Vice President and Dean of Academic Affairs, Executive Director of Finance/CFO, Vice President of Student Development and Enrollment Management, Center for DEI Director/Chief Diversity Officer, Executive Director of Auxiliary Campus Services, Executive Director of the Development Foundation, Executive Director of Human Resources, and Chief of Staff & Secretary to the Regional Board of Trustees. The President articulates a common vision and guides the College in achieving its goals. Serving as a visible advocate for the College's role in economic development, the President maintains and builds partnerships with business, industry, and local government within its three sponsoring counties and addresses the changes in the local economy by leading the College in developing programs and services to meet the needs of the community, region, and the state. The President is responsible for overseeing strategic planning and institutional effectiveness plans and processing for the College and articulates and advances the student success and completion agenda for the College. The President cultivates innovation throughout the College, including but not limited to guiding the development of academic programs in emerging fields and ensuring responsiveness to workforce needs. The President attends all Regional Board of Trustees meetings and keeps the Board abreast of accomplishments and new developments at the College. The President also prepares reports and presentations for the Regional Board of Trustees and submits and maintains an operating budget that adheres to College guidelines and reflects the long-range plans of the College.

Qualifications: This opportunity will be exciting for someone who enjoys setting an entrepreneurial and revolutionary vision in higher education and who can enact the vision while putting students first and thoroughly communicating with all constituents.

The Corning Community College Search Committee and Regional Board of Trustees will be considering the following qualifications:

• engaging, visionary, transparent, and entrepreneurial leadership;
• visible and accessible leadership style;
• proactive leadership mindset;
• ability to inspire creativity and innovation among the College community;
• financial and fiscal acumen that includes financial growth strategy, budgetary oversight and planning, and revenue generation;
• ability to advocate for Community College programs, funding, and opportunities within the SUNY system;
• ability to collaborate with businesses and industry, K-12 leaders, non-profits, and government;
• ability to adapt to the changing landscape of higher education as well as drive innovation that itself changes the landscape of higher education;
• workforce development experience;
• understanding of unionized environments;
• commitment to the philosophy and mission of a comprehensive community college;
• commitment to transparency, shared governance, and participatory management;
• senior-level administrative experience;
• ability to engage state and local government agencies;
• effective communication, organization, and presentation skills;
• student-centered focus and attitude;
• fundraising experience;
• An earned advanced degree from a regionally accredited institution is required, terminal degree preferred.

The Location: The scenic Southern Tier region of New York is the third largest tourist area in the state. The progressive communities support a strong educational system and promote clean and quiet neighborhoods where the residents genuinely care about each other. Corning has a vibrant downtown with restaurants, shops, a central square with a frequently used stage, and a small, scenic park along the Chemung River. The area's attractions include the premier wineries, breweries, and outdoor activities of the Finger Lakesregion and the New York State Park in Watkins Glen, the site of an international auto raceway. The Samuel L. Clemens Performing Arts Center, Corning Museum of Glass, Rockwell Museum, Glenn H. Curtiss Museum, and Arnot Art Museum enhance cultural life. The region has a growing economy with many thriving businesses, including Corning Incorporated, a high-technology Fortune 500 international company. SUNY CCC is a member of the I-86 Innovation Corridor, which helps to plan economic and industrial development initiatives in the community.

About The State University of New York System: The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY's 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country's oldest school of maritime, and the state's only college of optometry, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.4 million students amongst its entire portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide were nearly $1.16 billion in fiscal year 2024, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit www.suny.edu.

Salary: $170,000 - $190,000, plus a presidential residence.

Application: Interested candidates should submit only a cover letter and resume/curriculum vitae to RPA Inc. at CorningPresident@rpainc.org. For a confidential discussion about this opportunity or to make a nomination, please email Kira Heath, Search Manager; Amanda O'Donnell, Vice President and Senior Consultant; or Dana John Cohick, President, at the email address listed above. The first review of candidates will begin on April 28, 2025.

SUNY Corning Community College declares and affirms a policy of Equal Employment and Equal Educational Opportunity. SUNY Corning Community College will make all decisions regarding admissions and the entire educational process of its students and the recruitment, hiring, promotions, and other terms and conditions of employment, without discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed or religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, or other factors which cannot be lawfully used as the basis for employment or educational decisions.