College selects dean at the University of Northern Iowa to become new provost and vice president for academic affairs

NEW PALTZ -The State University of New York at New Paltz is pleased to announce the appointment of Philip Mauceri as the College’s new provost and vice president for academic affairs. He will start on August 1.

Dr. Mauceri is currently dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and a professor of political science at the University of Northern Iowa. Prior to becoming dean in 2009, he led the Department of Political Science from 2005 to 2009 and was interim department head from 2003 to 2005.

In addition to serving as provost at New Paltz, Mauceri will hold tenure and professor rank in the Political Science Department. His specialty is comparative politics and Latin American politics.

“I am very excited about the opportunity to serve as provost at SUNY New Paltz, a school that has a national reputation for excellence,” Mauceri said. “It quickly became clear to me during my campus visit that faculty, staff, and students share a strong dedication to the academic mission of New Paltz. I hope to work closely with President Christian, his leadership team, and everyone else on campus to strengthen the position of New Paltz in a rapidly changing academic environment.”

College President Donald P. Christian said Mauceri will be an excellent provost for New Paltz. “Dr. Mauceri has a strong academic background and an exceptional record of leadership and administrative accomplishments, at an institution very much like New Paltz in mission and reputation. He is well positioned to provide outstanding academic leadership as provost at New Paltz, and I am excited that he will be joining us.”

The University of Northern Iowa ranks second in the Midwest among public comprehensive institutions, with a high student retention rate and a history as a state normal school.

Mauceri’s responsibilities at Northern Iowa, which has 13,000 undergraduate and graduate students, include oversight of a nearly $13 million budget, 115 faculty, 2,000 student majors, and seven departments, including applied human sciences; geography; history; political science; psychology; sociology, anthropology & criminology; and social work.

He administers two interdisciplinary programs, Public Policy and Women’s & Gender Studies; two centers, the Center for Social & Behavioral Research and the Center for Violence Prevention; and the Office of the Dean, which includes two secretaries, an associate dean, development officer, grant administrator & scholarship coordinator.

As dean, Mauceri formed a new academic unit, the School of Applied Human Sciences, which combined programs formerly in the Department of Design, Textile, Gerontology and Family Services with the Counseling Program, to strengthen their identity and provide added synergies. Previously, he founded the Center for International Peace and Security Studies and served as founding director from 2003 to 2005.

While dean, he worked with the College Development Office and University Foundation on fund-raising, communication, and marketing efforts, including creating the first College Advisory Board made up mostly of distinguished alumni to assist with fund raising efforts. As dean, he worked to ensure continuous opportunities for faculty development, launched new initiatives to advance external grant activity, and developed strategic initiatives to enhance diversity in the college, including creating multicultural scholarships for undergraduates and tuition scholarships for minority graduate students; tasking the College Diversity Council with developing strategies to improve recruitment of minority faculty and students; and developing a college-wide Black & Latino Student Mentor Network.

In addition, as dean he supported university-wide goals by participating in strategic planning, chairing an administrative search committee, engaging in collective bargaining negotiations between the university and the faculty union, and serving on the Facilities Planning Committee and the Teacher Education Executive Council.

He joined the University of Northern Iowa faculty in 1994 as an assistant professor; was tenured and promoted to associate professor in 1998, and earned the rank of professor in 2005. He was been awarded two Fulbrights to teach and conduct research in Bogotá, Colombia (2001) and in the Dominican Republic (2002).

Prior to his 18 years at Northern Iowa, Mauceri was a visiting assistant professor at the Centers of Latin American Studies at the University of Connecticut-Storrs and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst from 1991 to 1994. He has also been a visiting lecturer or scholar at the Universidad Simón Bolívar in Caracas, Venezuela (summer 1993), the Department of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania (1990-1991) and the Instituto de Estudios Peruanos in Lima, Peru (1988-1990).

Mauceri earned a Ph. D. in Political Science at Columbia University in 1991 and an M.A. in 1985 and B.A. in 1983 (Cum Laude with Honors) from New York University.

He fills a vacancy in the provost position created by Donald Christian’s appointment as interim president in July 2010 and then as president in June 2011, following the appointment of Steven Poskanzer as president of Carleton College in Northfield, Minn.

A Brooklyn native, Mauceri is married to Miryam Antúnez de Mayolo, an attorney, and has three children at home.

He will earn a salary of $191,000.