Cathy Dove named 10th president of Paul Smith's College

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Cathy Dove portrait. Courtesy of Cornell University.

PAUL SMITHS, NY (07/28/2014)(readMedia)-- Cathy Dove, vice president of Cornell NYC Tech in New York City, will become the tenth president of Paul Smith's College.

The college's Board of Trustees selected Dove for the position following an extensive nationwide search. She will begin at Paul Smith's on Sept. 1. Dove will be the college's first woman president.

Dove will succeed John W. Mills, who is retiring after 10 years as president.

"We are so fortunate to have found a person with the background and leadership qualities of Cathy Dove," said E. Phillip Saunders, chairman of the Paul Smith's College board. "Cathy has been a force for action wherever she's been throughout her career, and I know we are going to go great places with her. I look forward to working with Cathy."

As vice president of Cornell Tech since 2012, Dove is leading Cornell University's ambitious efforts to build a new, 2.1-million-square-foot campus for applied sciences on Roosevelt Island in New York City. Dove's responsibilities at Cornell Tech include all administrative, operational, student services, community relations, marketing, capital planning and construction functions. The campus' first new building is expected to open in 2017, and more than 2,000 students will study there when the project is complete.

Dove has served in senior leadership roles at Cornell since 1989. Previous to Cornell Tech, her most recent positions were associate dean of its College of Engineering and, before that, associate dean at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management.

Before Cornell, Dove was assistant town manager for Arlington, Mass.; a financial analyst and marketing planner for Eli Lilly and Co.; and manager of engineering systems and development for Anaren Inc., a Syracuse-based maker of microwave and radio frequency equipment.

Dove has a doctorate in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania, an MBA from Cornell and a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University.

"It is an honor and a privilege to join the Paul Smith's College community as its next president," Dove said. "I was instantly attracted to the many things that make Paul Smith's special, including its long-held commitment to experiential education, its entrepreneurial spirit, and its great faculty, staff and students. I can't wait to move to the Adirondacks, and that beautiful campus, and get started."

Dove was selected after a far-reaching search organized by Korn Ferry, an internationally known recruitment firm. Members of the search committee included faculty, trustees, administrators and alumni.

"I am so excited Cathy Dove will serve as our next president," said Dan Kelting, executive director of the Adirondack Watershed Institute at Paul Smith's and a faculty member who sat on the presidential search committee. "She has tremendous energy and intellect, and believes strongly in the future of this college. Her proven ability to engage multiple stakeholders and to lead such a complex task as building Cornell Tech will serve us well as we work together to strengthen and grow Paul Smith's."

Dove's husband, Jeffrey Dove, is an attorney in Syracuse; they have a daughter, Jamie, who lives in New York City.

ABOUT PAUL SMITH'S COLLEGE

At Paul Smith's College, it's about the experience. Paul Smith's, which was founded in 1946, is the only bachelor's degree-granting institution of higher education in the Adirondacks. Our programs – in fields including hospitality, culinary arts, forestry, natural resources, and the sciences – draw on industries and resources in our own backyard while preparing students for successful careers anywhere.

For more information: www.paulsmiths.edu.