Banker Michael Keegan will bring years of executive experience to Sunday Undergraduate Commencement address

Watch Michael’s speech and view the speech transcript

SUNY New Paltz Foundation Board chair Michael Keegan will offer words of congratulations and advice to graduates of the Schools of Business, Education, Science & Engineering and Fine & Performing Arts as Undergraduate Commencement speaker, on Sunday, May 21, on the Old Main Quad.

Keegan has enjoyed a successful career of more than 20 years with M& T Bank, where his current title is senior vice president. He functions as area executive for Upstate New York and New England.

Keegan began his career in finance after earning a degree from a public college in his home state of Massachusetts.

“I believe strongly in public higher education, and all that it’s done for me, my siblings and my children,” Keegan said. “I think the single greatest thing you can get in early life is a college degree. The benefits that bestows are something no one can take away from you.”

Keegan joined the board of the SUNY New Paltz Foundation in 2003. As chair, he has worked tirelessly to fill the board with members representing diverse backgrounds and interests, and to organize their efforts around a shared commitment to creating new opportunities for students and expanding engagement between the College, its alumni and the broader community.

“Getting actively involved in higher education through the New Paltz Foundation Board was one of the best decisions I ever made,” he said. “Getting to work here has been enriching, it’s been intellectual, it’s just been all positive. What’s different about New Paltz is the way this place grows on you: I’ve met students, scholarship recipients and faculty, and heard compelling stories from everyone about how this place had changed their life.”

In addition to the SUNY New Paltz Foundation, Keegan also sits on the boards of the State Charter Advisory, Retail Council Services, St. Peter’s Health Partners and the Smiley Brothers Board of Directors. He resides with his wife, Mary, in Guilderland, N.Y. They have three children.

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SUNY New Paltz is debuting a new Undergraduate Commencement structure this year, with two ceremonies slated for Saturday, May 20 (Liberal Arts & Sciences), and Sunday, May 21 (Business, Education, Fine & Performing Arts, Science & Engineering). To learn more, please visit us online.