CAZENOVIA, N.Y. — Cazenovia College has named a SUNY Potsdam graduate as the school’s 29th president.
Ronald Chesbrough, who currently serves as president of St. Charles Community College in Cottleville, Missouri, will begin his duties at Cazenovia on July 1, the school said in a news release.
Chesbrough, 59, succeeds Mark Tierno, who now serves as the president of MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Illinois. Tierno left the school in 2015 after having served as president for 15 years.
Margery Pinet has been Cazenovia College’s interim president. She is a professor emerita and a member of the Cazenovia College board of trustees, according to the school’s website.
Chesbrough emerged as the board’s top choice with more than 25 years of experience in college leadership and administration and his “deep understanding” of higher-education trends, both public and private, Paul de Lima, interim chairman of the Cazenovia College board of trustees, said in the school’s release.
“Ron’s proven track record as a dynamic, collaborative and solutions-oriented leader along with being an effective communicator made him the perfect fit for Cazenovia College,” said de Lima.
Since 2011, Chesbrough has been president of St. Charles Community College, a two-year college with about 10,000 students and an annual operating budget of $39 million.
Cazenovia College has a full-time enrollment of 943 students for the 2015-16 academic year and a $30 million budget, according to CNYBJ Research.
Before leading St. Charles, Chesbrough served as VP for student affairs at Hastings College in Hastings, Nebraska, from 2005 to 2011.
Prior to that, he was dean of students at Johnson State College in Vermont from 1993 to 2005.
Chesbrough earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and economics from the SUNY Potsdam; a master’s degree in organizational and human-resource development from the University of Vermont; and his doctorate in higher-education leadership from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, according to the news release.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
