RH Perry & Associates Recruits President for Hudson Valley Community College
June 23, 2025 – RH Perry & Associates has helped to recruit Michael S. Brophy as the 8th president of Hudson Valley Community College. He will begin this new role on August 1. Senior consultants Gena Glickman and Kevin Cavanagh led the assignment. Dr. Brophy was selected as president of Hudson Valley following a national search that began in fall 2024 with the appointment of a 24-member presidential search committee and hiring of the executive search firm RH Perry. He participated in numerous open meetings with members of the campus community and college stakeholders in February, following interviews with the presidential search committee comprised of students, faculty, staff, alumni, trustees, board members and local leaders.
The SUNY board of trustees said: “SUNY’s community colleges are engines of student success and upward mobility and play a vital role in our state’s economic growth and workforce development. We are grateful to the search committee at Hudson Valley for bringing a strong candidate to move their campus forward at this exciting moment for New York’s community colleges.”
“There is a place at SUNY for every New Yorker, and with increasing levels of State investment, our community colleges are providing in-demand academic programs and robust supports to give New Yorkers everything they need to succeed in earning their higher education,” SUNY chancellor John B. King Jr. said.
“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Brophy as the next president of Hudson Valley Community College,” said Neil Kelleher, chair of the board of trustees and presidential search committee. “With his extensive experience in higher education and a clear understanding of Hudson Valley’s essential role in the region, Dr. Brophy is well prepared to lead the college into its next chapter. As a recognized leader in student support, workforce development and academic excellence, Hudson Valley is poised to build on its strong foundation and expand programs and services that meet the evolving needs of our students and the regional economy. I believe I speak for the entire HVCC family by saying I am confident the college will continue to grow its impact, guided by Dr. Brophy’s deep commitment to ensuring opportunity for all students, regardless of their background, as they pursue their educational and career goals.”
Dr. Brophy brings more than 35 years of experience in higher education to Hudson Valley and currently serves as president of Hilbert College in Buffalo, NY. During his tenure at Hilbert, Dr. Brophy increased the school’s enrollment by 30 percent, enrolling the largest first-year class in the college’s history, increased non-degree enrollment by more than 200 percent percent eliminated the school’s historic operating deficit, and maintained tuition rates below the national average. Throughout his career he has served at a number of collegiate institutions, including as president for Benedictine University and Marymount California University, dean and executive officer of the University of Wisconsin Baraboo campus, associate provost at Long Island University, and dean of enrollment at SUNY’s Canton campus.
“I am deeply honored to be entrusted with the leadership of Hudson Valley Community College which is an institution widely recognized for creating opportunity, empowering students and driving regional workforce development,” said Dr. Brophy. “Returning to the Capital region makes this appointment especially meaningful. I am sincerely grateful to the SUNY board of trustees, led by chairman Merryl Tisch, chancellor John King, Hudson Valley’s board of trustees, and board chairman Neil Kelleher for the trust they have placed in me. I look forward to working collaboratively with our students, faculty, staff, and our many partners in education, workforce, and the community, to ensure the college’s continued growth and success.”
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Founded in 1953 to serve veterans of WWII and the Korean War, Hudson Valley is now one of the largest and most comprehensive community colleges in the SUNY system. Over 10,000 students from around the Capital Region and the world advance their education and lives through 85 degree and certificate programs, high school pipeline programs at 34 schools, hundreds of non-credit, skills-based workforce training courses and personal enrichment classes. The college is also a leader in distance learning, offering more than 23 academic programs and hundreds of individual courses completely online.
Academic Executive Search Veterans
Established in 1974, RH Perry & Associates offers strong credentials and experience in academic executive search, having completed well over 1,000 searches in its history. Serving both two-year and four-year institutions, the firm’s higher education practice consists of senior-level executives with a well-balanced mix of college and university presidential and senior administrative experience and executive search expertise. Headquartered in Ashville, NC, RH Perry’s consultants maintain offices in Washington, D.C., Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.
Dr. Glickman, retired president of Massasoit Community College and president emerita, Manchester Community College, has a breadth of experience in higher education, beginning as a career counselor and culminating in 12 years as a community college president. Her background encompasses a distinguished career of more than 40 years in public and private community colleges and universities, including experience leading a college through significant change with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr. Cavanagh has been a distinguished leader in the higher education industry for 28 years, serving as the chief enrollment officer at five institutions: Manhattan College, Iona University, The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, The College of New Rochelle, and Bloomfield College. In these roles, he has managed a broad portfolio of administrative divisions, including admissions, financial aid, marketing, information technology, public relations, residential life, athletics, student health and wellness, and international studies.
Related: RH Perry & Associates Assists New Mexico Highlands University with President Search
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
