SUNY Morrisville selects Harkness as new provost

MORRISVILLE, N.Y. — Suzan Harkness will join SUNY Morrisville on Jan. 9 as its new provost, where she will be responsible for the oversight and administration of all academic-support programs.

She will also address opportunities that support the university’s mission to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as serve as the contact person for academic policies and procedures.

Harkness brings more than two decades of experience in higher education, most recently serving as associate VP for academic affairs and assessment at Notre Dame of Maryland University in Baltimore. In that role, she is responsible for academic operations, student success and retention, institutional accreditation and assessment, policy development, and online learning.

Her administrative experience includes serving as VP for academic affairs at Stephens College; special assistant to the president, founding director of the center for academic technology, and assistant dean in the learning resources division at the University of the District of Columbia; and managing director for academic affairs at the Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars.

Harkness holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, a master’s degree in international relations from U.S. International University, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

SUNY Morrisville offers more than 50 bachelor’s and associate-degree programs to its 2,000 students. Areas of study include agriculture, technology, business, and specialties in areas such as renewable energy, environmental conservation, aquaculture, and other areas of technology. The college also operates a campus in Norwich, which currently serves commuter students enrolled in certain career and technical areas, as well as liberal-arts transfer programs.