Suzanne Smith Appointed the Eighteenth President of SUNY-Potsdam

The board of trustees of the State University of New York has appointed Suzanne Smith as the eighteenth president of its Potsdam campus. She will take office on April 17.

The Potsdam campus is SUNY’s oldest college. It enrolls more than 2,300 undergraduate students and about 250 graduate students according to the most recent statistics from the U.S. Department of Education. Women make up 62 percent of the undergraduate student body.

“Potsdam has stood the test of time and educated the next generation of learners for over 200 years,” Dr. Smith said. “The college in the foothills of the Adirondacks has a lot to be proud of, including the world-renowned Crane School of Music. I am excited to build on the college’s longevity and use that as a tool to drive it forward to attract new students while enhancing the already successful programs Potsdam offers.”

Dr. Smith has served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Georgia Southwestern State University since July 1, 2018. She is also a tenured professor in the department of psychology and sociology. Earlier, Dr. Smith served at Washington State University Vancouver from 1997-2018, where she most recently served as the director of academic planning and special assistant to the vice chancellor of academic affairs.

Dr. Smith is a graduate of Erskine College in Due West, South Carolina, where she majored in behavior science. She received a master’s degree in family and child development from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and a Ph.D. in child and family development from the University of Georgia.