Hartwick president elected vice chair of independent colleges commission

ONEONTA, N.Y. — Hartwick College President Margaret Drugovich has been elected vice chair of the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities (CICU).

The CICU held the election during a recent organizational board meeting, which also included the election of a new board chair and seven trustees.

The vice-chair position has a one-year term, but the CICU board has the option to renew the term.

Drugovich takes over after serving as CICU treasurer and chair of its finance and administrative committee. She succeeds Adelphi University President Chris Riordan, who was named the CICU’s new board chair.

As vice chair, Drugovich is a member of the CICU executive committee and works with the chair to provide “oversight, guidance and policy direction” for the organization, which says it serves as the “collective voice” for private, nonprofit higher education in New York state.

She will preside over all CICU board meetings in the absence of the board chair.

“I am thrilled that Dr. Drugovich has agreed to serve as vice chair of the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities,” Mary Beth Labate, president of CICU, said in a statement. “President Drugovich is a champion for the independent sector of higher education in New York and, most importantly, for the many low-income students that thrive on our campuses. I am fortunate that I will be able to benefit from her sage guidance, her laser focus on student success, and her commitment to New York’s higher education ecosystem.”

Founded in 1956, the Albany–based CICU says it represents the chief executives of New York’s more than 100 independent (private, nonprofit) colleges and universities on issues of public policy.