Mark Prus Named Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

CORTLAND, NY (04/30/2008)(readMedia)-- Mark Prus, the dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at SUNY Cortland since July 2002, will become the College’s provost and vice president for academic affairs on July 1, reported SUNY Cortland President Erik J. Bitterbaum to the campus on Tuesday.

Prus will replace Elizabeth Davis-Russell, who will retire on June 30.

As provost and vice president of academic affairs, Prus will be the College’s chief academic officer and will provide leadership and vision to the Schools of Arts and Sciences, Education, and Professional Studies. He will also oversee athletics, enrollment management, graduate studies, information resources, institutional research, international programs, multicultural and gender studies, outdoor and environmental education, and sponsored programs.

A native of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, Prus grew up in North Canton, Ohio. He graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Notre Dame and earned a doctorate in economics from the University of Utah. He studied for his Ph.D. on a University of Utah Teaching Fellowship and a Marriner S. Eccles Fellowship in Political Economy.

Prus joined the SUNY Cortland Economics Department faculty in 1990 as a visiting assistant professor after having taught at SUNY Potsdam for five years. Two years later, he was promoted to associate professor. He attained the rank of professor in 2001.

He has taught courses in labor economics, macroeconomic theory, economic statistics, monetary economics, microeconomic theory, fiscal economics, human resource management and collective bargaining.

In 1997, Prus was named the department chair. He coordinated curriculum development, faculty recruitment and assessment activities. He oversaw a successful assessment initiative and program review, recruited four new faculty members, and participated in the development of new majors in business economics and sport management.

From January-July 2002, Prus served as interim associate dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. He served as interim dean from July 2002 until March 2004, when he was permanently appointed to the position.

As dean, he has been responsible for overseeing a $14 million budget for 18 academic departments and one interdisciplinary center. His responsibilities include curriculum development and planning, and faculty recruitment development and evaluation.

Prus participated in program review initiatives, re-accreditation effort and the development and assessment of the General Education program.

He serves on numerous committees, including the President’s Council, the Provost’s Cabinet, the Academic Affairs Council, the General Education Committee, the Teacher Education Council, the Affirmative Action Committee, the College Assessment Committee and the Committee on the Status and Education of Women. He has also worked with the Arts and Sciences Alumni Advisory Council to develop strategic planning for the school.

Within the community, Prus serves on the Empire Zone Advisory Board and is a member of the Cortland Regional Medical Center’s Board of Trustees.

Prus has served as a consultant and expert witness on prevailing wage laws and their impact on public construction costs in California, Maryland, and Wyoming, as well as British Columbia, Canada. The Construction Labour Relations Association selected him for a research grant in 1996.

He is the author of numerous published papers and monographs focusing on women's labor market experience, occupational sex segregation, wage inequities and prevailing wage laws.

Prus, who resides in Homer, N.Y., has a son, Francis, who is a senior at the Putney School in Putney, Vt.

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Posted Wednesday April 30, 2008 at 11:46 am by SUNY Cortland