Another step forward: SUNY Poly hires permanent provost

This story has been updated to reflect that the decision to hire a permanent provost at SUNY Polytechnic Institute was made internally, not by the SUNY trustees.

SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Marcy has chosen a man who studies the past to be the new provost of a college training the workforce of the future.

Andrew Russell, since January, has been appointed to the position permanently following a national search. A provost is a college’s top academic officer.

“Given Dr. Russell’s reputation, and the skill with which he steered our institution through multiple transitions, I have complete confidence that he is the best person to lead SUNY Poly into the next phase of our academic evolution,” SUNY Poly President Dr. Winston Soboyejo said in a statement. “My experience with Dr. Russell over the last seven months has shown that he is a thoughtful consensus-builder who is well-respected on our campus, within the SUNY system, in the global academic community, and with our partners in the Mohawk Valley.”

Russell, a historian with a Ph.D. in the history of science, medicine and technology from Johns Hopkins University, has primarily focused his research on historical and contemporary aspects of computing, infrastructure and technology.

But, he’s excited to build on the positive momentum achieved in the past 18 months and to help SUNY Poly build the region’s future, he said.

“I look forward to supporting and engaging our tremendous faculty, working collaboratively to grow our academic offerings to continue meeting the needs of current and prospective students, as well as those of industry partners,” he said in the statement. “Our growth in research and education could not be more timely, given the momentous growth the Mohawk Valley region and New York State have been seeing in several sectors such as healthcare, semiconductors, and advanced manufacturing.”

More than a college

SUNY Poly has long been seen as a cornerstone of the Mohawk Valley’s attempts to lure advanced manufacturing firms to the region and, more specifically, to the Marcy Nanocenter across the street from SUNY Poly. Advanced manufacturing firms need the kind of well-trained technicians that SUNY Poly can educate.

But local leaders feared that vision would come crashing down after SUNY trustees’ voted in December 2022 to return the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering in Albany, which had become part of a two-campus SUNY Poly in 2014, to the University at Albany, where the nanoscale college originated in 2001.

The college also went through seven years with four interim leaders after former President Alain Kaloyeros was suspended in 2016 over his involvement in a bid-rigging scandal. Soboyejo was appointed permanent president in September.

State officials have promised, however, that SUNY Poly’s future is secure and that it will become one of the best, if not the best, polytechnic schools in the country.

Since the nanoscale college’s departure, the state has pledged $72 million for renovations at SUNY Poly and $44 million for its health and advanced manufacturing programs.  

And now it has also hired a permanent provost.

Russell will help SUNY Poly reach its lofty goals, Soboyejo said.

“His leadership, in various capacities over the past year and a half, has set SUNY Poly on a very strong path,” he said. “Furthermore, Dr. Russell will remain a driving force in elevating the impact of SUNY Poly’s education, research, and innovation as we take our place as the state and nation’s premier public polytechnic.”

About the provost

Since first coming to SUNY Poly from Stevens Institute of Technology in 2016, Russell, an upstate native, has served in several capacities. He began at SUNY Poly as the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, but was asked to serve as officer-in-charge at the college in December 2022, which meant he had a leadership role in getting the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering back to UAlbany four months ahead of schedule.

Here are some of his professional accomplishments highlighted by the SUNY Poly release announcing his appointment:

• Author or co-author of three books and more than two dozen peer-reviewed papers.

• Frequent interviewee with the news media, including NPR, CNN, Wired and the Guardian.

• Frequent contributor of essays to publications such as the New York Times, Washington Post, IEEE Spectrum and Aeon.

• Editorial board member for the academic journals Technology and Culture, and Internet Histories.

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: SUNY Poly appoints permanent provost: Andrew Russell