MARK MONTGOMERY

SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) has appointed MARK MONTGOMERY as its chief diversity officer to deploy strategic and sustained approaches for the institution’s students, faculty, and staff. He is scheduled to join SUNY Poly July 1, in advance of the class of 2024’s orientation. This will also allow him to fulfill his current role at Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC), where he currently serves as dean of the School of Public and Human Services. Montgomery earned his associate degree in human services from MVCC. In 2000, he received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from SUNY Poly. Montgomery continued his education at the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine, where he earned a master’s degree in education with a focus in academic motivation, specifically related to inmates. He received his Ph.D. in education in February 2014, focusing on how systemic influences impact student motivation and performance. In 2015, Montgomery began providing workshops in elementary schools and high schools to train teachers, administrators, and others to motivate students across cultural lines. He was nominated for the SUNY Chancellor’s Award in 2009 for excellence in service and in 2015 received the Outstanding Community Service Award from the Mohawk Valley Frontiers. A survivor of sarcoidosis, a pulmonary disease, Montgomery, along with his wife, Lisa, founded, “Joseph’s Experience,” a nonprofit which supports children who suffer from diseases, including cancer and leukemia. In 2017, he was named the Friend of Children of the year for his efforts serving these children. In August of that year, he finished a bicycle ride through all 62 counties in New York state in honor of those who suffer. In 2019, he biked across the Edmond Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, to honor his parents and African American history. Most recently, in 2019, he received the NYS Commendation for lasting contribution to community.