New president of Utica University tells its story

UTICA, N.Y. — In the three months since he’s taken over as Utica University’s 10th president, Todd Pfannestiel welcomed new and returning students on campus, learned the “Gwiddy” for a TikTok dance video, and walked into his inauguration on Sept. 29 to a rousing chorus from the student body.

“That was truly one of the happiest days of my entire adult life,” he says in an interview.

While the lighthearted moments may seem as boundless as Pfannestiel’s energy, there is no doubt about his commitment to the institution he now leads.

It’s a role that Pfannestiel has been preparing for over the past six months, following the Feb. 27 announcement he would step into the role vacated by the retiring Laura Casamento.

The reality, Pfannestiel says, is that he’s been preparing for this moment his entire 25-year career in higher education. The last five years of that career have been at Utica University, where he served as provost and senior VP for academic affairs.

In that role, his interactions with students were limited, so he’s embracing the opportunity as president to connect with the students. Their warm reception at his inauguration is testament to the relationship he has already forged with them.

While he’s not leaving the fun behind him, Pfannestiel is already hard at work in his new role. One of the keys to being a successful president is being able to tell Utica’s story, he says. “And I know this story.”

In the current higher-education climate, it’s more important than ever to be able to tell — and sell — that story to prospective students, their families, donors, and other supporters.

“We’re a small private institution, and we see what’s happening around us,” Utica University’s new president says. Facing mounting financial hurdles, Cazenovia College closed its doors on June 30. Even public institutions are facing difficulties. SUNY Potsdam recently announced layoffs as it battles a $9 million budget gap and enrollment that has declined 43 percent since 2010.

“There are a lot of headwinds,” Pfannestiel says. First-year deposits at Utica University are higher than they’ve been in a decade, but universities are still recovering from the pandemic and with people looking to spend their education dollars wisely. It’s important that Utica University asks itself the hard questions, manages the headwinds, and finds its path to a sustainable future, he says.

That future is already happening today as Utica University evolves to become an institution that not only prepares students for the careers of today but also for the careers of tomorrow.

“I need to be sure [our students] can think well, write well, compute well,” Pfannestiel says. It’s about having the right mix of classroom learning and hands-on experience — through simulation labs and internship experiences — to make sure students are ready for the “real world” that faces them after college.

A planned cyber range and crime-scene lab will help provide some of that experience, but Pfannestiel wants to take it even further, making sure the university is providing meaningful internship opportunities for all students.

“I want all of our students that have hit all the markers to have the opportunity from freshman and sophomore year,” he says. The earlier the better, he says, because sometimes that’s where people figure out “this isn’t what they want to do.”

If that does happen, Pfannestiel says it’s his job to make sure those students who do change their majors can still graduate in four years. To help in that regard, the university revamped its general-education requirements — going from 54 required credits down to 36.

“We basically gave those back to the students,” he says of the 18 credits, about equal to a semester’s courseload. “That’s a great gift.” It opens opportunities for many things like adding a minor, studying abroad, or doing an internship and still being able to graduate within four years, he says.

Pfannestiel also realizes that Utica University, and its students, can’t reach their full potential alone. That’s why he’s actively researching partnerships with other institutions and organizations that could provide opportunities for firsthand learning or even joint degrees. “We can be a better institution when we partner,” he says.

Utica University already has some partnerships like at the Utica University Nexus Center. Through that partnership, which costs the university $150,000 annually for the next decade, its hockey teams have a practice and playing facility and students in the sports-management program have a hands-on learning environment.

The new Wynn Hospital provides another opportunity, Pfannestiel says, and Utica University is in discussions with Mohawk Valley Health System.

“I want our students to benefit from the community and be of benefit to the community,” he says.

Before joining Utica University, Pfannestiel served on the faculty of Clarion University of Pennsylvania for 20 years as a professor of history, as well as dean of the College of Arts, Education, and Sciences, interim provost, and acting president. He holds a Ph.D. in history from the College of William and Mary and a bachelor’s degree in history and economics from the University of Arkansas.