President Harvey Stenger announces end of his term

President Harvey Stenger announced at the Binghamton University Council meeting Friday morning that this will be his final year as president. After 40 years in higher education - the last 12 of which he served as president of Binghamton University - Stenger has asked Chancellor John B. King Jr. to begin the search for his replacement. Stenger said he would stay on until a new president is in place.

Since assuming his duties on Jan. 1, 2012, Stenger has led an era of growth and expansion that has established the University's reputation as one of the top public institutions in the nation, with significant growth in its student population, number of faculty and staff, research expenditures, academic programs, student success, inclusion, sustainability, fundraising, campus renovation and construction.

"President Harvey Stenger is a huge part of Binghamton's success story and its emergence as a world-class university," King said. "His leadership has helped bring the research dollars that have turned the campus and the region into an engine of innovation and raised the profile of the university - massively increasing applications and growing academics, student life, and resources for student success. We applaud his leadership and his great care of and for the Binghamton University community and appreciate the time we still have with him to continue pushing this work forward."

Stenger launched the Road Map to Premier strategic plan in 2013, focusing on improving the University's efforts in six key areas: creative activities, learning community, inclusive campus, engagement, strategic investments and internationalization. A series of renewals and proposals solicited from the campus community have kept the Road Map up to date with new and emerging needs from students, faculty and staff. The Road Map priorities served as guiding principles for many of the changes the University embarked on during Stenger's presidency.

During Stenger's tenure, overall student enrollment increased from 14,746 to 18,850, an increase of 28%. Graduate enrollment increased 44%, from 2,885 to 4,140. Stenger also led a substantial growth of Binghamton's faculty and staff members. Since 2012, the number of full-time faculty is up 53% to 921. Professional and classified staff have grown by 28% to 2,865.

Under Stenger's leadership, the University has made investments in Binghamton's faculty and infrastructure to take a leading role in research. Since 2011-12, research expenditures have risen 70% from $40.2 million to $68.5 million. In 2019, the University achieved Carnegie R1 status in recognition of research expenditures and PhD graduation numbers. And the New Energy New York project, which has the potential to reach $270 million in federal and state funding, is striving to develop a lab-to-market battery economy in Upstate New York.

The establishment of the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences is one example of an expansion of graduate programs Stenger worked to create. Binghamton has added high-demand, career-directed programs, including Doctor of Pharmacy, Doctor of Physical Therapy and an Occupational Therapy Doctorate - the first program of its kind in the SUNY system. The University has also added master's programs in areas including pharmaceutical sciences, public health, speech and language pathology, health care systems, sustainable communities, human rights, genocide and mass atrocity prevention and data analytics.

The University's Division of Advancement rose to Stenger's challenge of raising funds to support a variety of initiatives. Annual philanthropic contributions have risen, and Binghamton's endowment has grown from $55 million to $242 million over the past 12 years. Many of these increases are due to the recent completion of a seven-year, $261 million comprehensive campaign.

A commitment to student success was a major part of Stenger's plan for ensuring students excelled in the classroom, adjusted to college life and were prepared to thrive after graduation. Binghamton's first-year retention rate has regularly exceeded 90% and its six-year graduation rate of 84% is the highest among SUNY's University Centers and far exceeds the national average of 63.5% for public universities.

In 2020, Binghamton University created the position of Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. In 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, Binghamton received the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity.

Stenger's commitment to sustainability resulted in nearly a 40% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions during this time of growth, one of many factors that have contributed to Binghamton University earning a gold rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (AASHE STARS).

Binghamton's athletics program has consistently improved, including back-to-back America East Commissioner's Cup championships in 2023 and 2024. Additionally, student-athletes have excelled in the classroom, with a combined GPA of 3.47 and 61 4.0-GPA student-athletes for the spring 2024 semester.

Since Stenger's arrival in 2012, the University has completed more than $600 million of construction and renovation projects to provide students, faculty and staff with modern and state-of-the-art facilities for them to live, work and study. The projects include:

* The Center of Excellence (2014) and the Smart Energy Building (2017) at the Innovative Technologies Complex

* The Koffman Southern Tier Incubator Building in downtown Binghamton (2017) and branch location on Plaza Drive in Vestal (2024)

* The Pharmacy Building (2018) and the Pharmaceutical Research and Development Center (2024) in Johnson City

* The Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences Building (2020) in Johnson City

* Athletics: Baseball Complex (2022) and Field House (2024)

* Charlene and Roger Kramer Welcome Center (2024)

* Gannett Drive Library Storage, Speech Clinic and NENY Battery Plant (2020 to 2024) in Johnson City

• Renovations to the Vestal Campus Engineering Building, Dickinson Residence Halls, The Union, Hinman Dining Room and three of the five science buildings

* Completion of the East Campus residence halls (2013)

* An expansion of the East Gym to open in 2025

* A net zero environmental education center at Nuthatch Hollow to open in 2025

* A new classroom and lecture hall building to open in 2026

The University's role in the greater Binghamton and Southern Tier community expanded under Stenger's lead. It is the second-largest employer in Broome County and has a $1.4 billion annual impact in the region, with an annual budget of $600 million. Stenger's connections with local, state and federal officials allowed the University to expand its footprint in Johnson City and downtown Binghamton and to further revitalize the area's economy through projects such as New Energy New York.

This past year, Binghamton University reached its highest ranking ever on the U.S. News & World Report "Best Colleges" list. Binghamton was ranked No. 73 in the national universities category and No. 32 among public universities. It was recently ranked as one of the top 10 public universities in the country by Forbes on its list of the "New Ivies."

Stenger earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Cornell University in 1979 and a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1984. He was a professor in Lehigh University's Department of Chemical Engineering, co-chair of that department, director of the Lehigh Environmental Studies Center and dean of Lehigh's Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science. He left Lehigh to serve as dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University at Buffalo and later served as interim provost at the University of Buffalo before becoming president at Binghamton University in January 2012.

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