SUNY Potsdam Names Its First Woman President

The State University of New York Board of Trustees has selected Kristin G. Esterberg as the 16th president of SUNY Potsdam. The campus of the SUNY system near the Canadian border in upstate New York enrolls about 4,200 students. Women make up 58 percent of the undergraduate student body.

When she takes office on July 1, Dr. Esterberg will be the first woman president of SUNY Potsdam. Currently, she is provost and academic vice president at Salem State University in Massachusetts. Earlier, she was a professor of sociology and associate provost at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. Dr. Esterberg is the former director of the women’s studies program at the University of Missouri Kansas City.

In accepting the appointment, Dr. Esterberg said, “SUNY Potsdam creates a rich and vibrant cultural life in the North Country, serving not only its students but the entire region. I am honored to be joining this talented community of students, faculty, and staff and leading SUNY Potsdam into its bicentennial year and beyond.”

Dr. Esterberg is a graduate of Boston University, where she majored in philosophy and political science. She earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in sociology at Cornell University.