Academic Career & Executive Search Recruits Provost for Clarkson University
January 8, 2024 – Academic Career & Executive Search (ACES) has assisted in the recruitment of Christopher Robinson as the new provost for Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY. Robyn Hannigan stepped down from the role last June to become president of nearby Ursinus College. Jennifer Muller, managing partner, led the search. “We are thrilled to have Chris Robinson take on the permanent role of provost here at Clarkson,” said Marc P. Christensen, president of Clarkson University. “In his role as interim provost over the last several months, Chris has demonstrated his capacity to navigate complex and challenging sets of circumstances. It is clear to me that he has the disposition, wisdom, and skills to be an exceptional provost for where we are now and into the future.”
Mr. Robinson joined the office of the provost in 2020 as associate provost for faculty achievement where he led faculty development programming and supported school-based and programmatic initiatives. He launched the faculty fellowship program; expanded teaching and learning in diversity, equity and inclusion; and fostered new areas of instructional excellence. Mr. Robinson joined Clarkson in 1998 first as a visiting assistant professor before being promoted to assistant professor in 2004. He rose to the rank of Associate Professor in 2010 and was granted the rank of Full Professor in 2019.
Prior to joining Clarkson, Mr. Robinson held faculty positions at Siena College, the State University of New York at Albany, the College of St. Rose, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Together with the president and his cabinet, Mr. Robinson will be play a central role in making the Clarkson strategic plan a reality. Leading the academic agenda, he will have broad and critical institutional influence and decision-making opportunities. His responsibilities will span strategic planning; policy formulation; budgetary decision-making, assessment, and continuous improvement; and faculty supervision.
“Clarkson has been my home for 25 years, and I look forward to continuing to serve this university community as provost,” said Mr. Robinson. “The current higher education landscape demands that we come together to solve problems in a creative and unified manner. I am eager to work with the diligent leaders at Clarkson to face these challenges and build on our roots to offer our students a strong education that serves humanity.”
Founded in 1896, Clarkson University is a private, national research university that is a leader in technological education and sustainable economic development through teaching, research, scholarship, and innovation. The university offers more than 95 programs of study in engineering, business, education, science, liberal arts, and health professions.
Academic Career & Executive Search Recruits Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer for California State University, Stanislaus
After a national search, Academic Career & Executive Search (ACES) has assisted in the recruitment of Sacha Joseph-Mathews as founding chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer at California State University, Stanislaus (CSU). Dr. Joseph-Mathews has over 15 years of experience training executives, managers, and organizations in unconscious bias and diversity, equity, and inclusion. She joins CSU, Stanislaus from University of the Pacific, where she has served as the assistant dean of diversity, equity, and inclusion and community engagement in the school of business since 2020. Dr. Joseph-Mathews has also served as an associate professor at University of the Pacific since 2006, teaching courses ranging from DEI in business to services marketing and management.
Clarkson has an enrollment of over 4,600 undergraduates and graduate students from 42 states and 61 countries. Faculty and staff number about 750. In addition to its main campus in Potsdam, Clarkson has New York State hubs for graduate school and research satellites at the capital region campus in Schenectady as well as in Saranac Lake (in partnership with the Trudeau Institute), Beacon, and New York City. Graduate courses are also taught online.
Finding Senior Education Leaders
Academic Career & Executive Search focuses on executive search services, career planning, and candidate coaching. Specializing in challenging faculty to senior administrative positions, the firm offers six a la carte services spanning full search, candidate generation, interim, multi-hire, and contingency search. Candidate support services include webinars, career planning and candidate coaching. Its team has served in virtually every capacity in higher education including president, vice president, provost, dean, chief human research officer, and faculty members across all types and sizes of institutions.
Ms. Muller has more than 20 years of research and development experience in higher education and Fortune 500 companies. She has led over 70 higher education searches both domestically and internationally spanning presidents, vice presidents, associate chancellors, deans, directors, chairs, and faculty level positions. She is former vice chair of the American Council on Education (ACE) Executive Search Roundtable and serves as an advisor in the numerous ACE leadership development forums.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor; Lily Fauver, Senior Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
