SUNY Potsdam Announces Inauguration Celebration for President Kristin G. Esterberg

The State University of New York at Potsdam will Install Dr. Kristin G. Esterberg as College's 16th President on April 24

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The invitation for the inauguration of Dr. Kristin G. Esterberg as the sixteenth president of SUNY Potsdam can be seen here.

POTSDAM, NY (03/13/2015)(readMedia)-- The State University of New York at Potsdam is pleased to announce the upcoming inauguration celebration in honor of the institution's sixteenth president, Dr. Kristin G. Esterberg.

The inaugural events will serve as the kick-off for SUNY Potsdam's fourth annual Lougheed-Kofoed Festival of the Arts, beginning on Friday, April 24. The LoKo Festival brings together both campus and community for an interdisciplinary celebration of creative expression.

Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher will attend the installation ceremony at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, April 24, in the Helen M. Hosmer Concert Hall at SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music.

The Voices of Victory gospel choir will lead the processional, which will include delegates from colleges and universities from across the country, as well as faculty, staff, trustees and representatives from student clubs and honor societies. Representatives from the faculty, the student body, the Potsdam College Foundation, alumni and the community will offer greetings to the president.

Award-winning poet Martín Espada, who has been called "the Latino poet of his generation," will offer a commemorative reading during the ceremony. The Frackenpohl Honors Brass Quintet will present several new works which have been composed for the occasion by Crane School of Music Professor Dr. David Heinick.

Immediately following the ceremony, there will be an installation reception at 1 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center lobby.

All are encouraged to experience LoKo Festival performances from 3 to 9 p.m., including a Crane Latin Ensemble concert, student one-act plays, a poetry reading by Espada and a Chinese children's theatre performance.

At 9 p.m., Esterberg and her family will join the campus community for an evening dessert party with fireworks, to be held in the Knowles Hall Multi-Purpose Room.

About the President:

Dr. Kristin G. Esterberg brings a passion for creativity and a dedication to diversity to her leadership at The State University of New York at Potsdam, where she was appointed president on April 30, 2014. Trained as a sociologist, Esterberg received her Ph.D. and M.A. degrees in sociology at Cornell University. She earned her bachelor's degree in philosophy and political science from Boston University.

Prior to her appointment as president of SUNY Potsdam, Esterberg served as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Salem State University in Salem, Mass. Previously, she held positions as the Associate Provost and Deputy Provost and chaired the sociology department at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, and was a tenured member of the faculty and director of women's studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Esterberg is the author of three books, and numerous articles and publications on qualitative research methodology, gender and sexuality. Her most recent book (with co-author John Wooding) is "Divided Conversations: Identity, Leadership and Change in Public Higher Education," published by Vanderbilt University Press in 2013.

Esterberg is excited and honored to be part of the SUNY Potsdam community of students, faculty and staff, and leading the College into its bicentennial year and beyond. She is joined in Potsdam by her spouse, Dr. Sue Bergmeier and their two daughters, Katherine and Lin (Qiong Qiong).

Esterberg has requested that all gifts received in her honor go to support the Third Century Fund, an endowed fund that provides resources to meet SUNY Potsdam's greatest needs and opportunities.

For more information about the inauguration activities at SUNY Potsdam, please visit www.potsdam.edu/inauguration.

Founded in 1816, and located on the outskirts of the beautiful Adirondack Park, The State University of New York at Potsdam is one of America's first 50 colleges. SUNY Potsdam currently enrolls approximately 4,300 undergraduate and graduate students. Home to the world-renowned Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam is known for its handcrafted education, challenging liberal arts and sciences core, excellence in teacher training and leadership in the performing and visual arts. Empowered by a culture of creativity, the campus community recently launched Take the Lead: The Campaign for Potsdam, which aims to raise $27 million by the College's bicentennial in 2016.

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