President's Cabinet

 

Black and white headshot of Dr. Kyle Anderson

Kyle Anderson

Faculty Senate Chair

Kyle J. Anderson is an Associate Professor at SUNY Old Westbury and the author of The Egyptian Labor Corps: Race, Space, and Place in the First World War. His research has been funded by the Kluge Foundation, the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) and the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE).  He is fluent in Arabic and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on the modern Middle East, Muslim history, and World History.

 

Portrait photo of Dr. Randall Edouard

Randall M-J Edouard

Vice President of Student Affairs

Dr. Randall Marie-Jacques Edouard came to SUNY Old Westbury from Binghamton University where he has spent the last 15 years in several different capacities including Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students. As the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students, Dr. Edouard supervises the areas of Student Activities, the University Student Union, Off-Campus Programs and Services, Fraternity and Sorority Life, Parent and Family Programs, the Parent Leadership Council, New Student Programs and Orientation, TRiO Programs, Student Affairs Compliance, Veterans and Military Services, the Consultation, Advocacy, Referral and Education (CARE) Team, the Students of Concern (SOC) committee, the Threat Assessment Team (TAT), the Workplace Violence (WV) committee, the Binghamton University Interfaith Council (BUIC), and the Violence, Abuse and Rape Crisis Center (VARCC). In his capacity as the Dean of Students, it is imperative to work very closely and collaboratively with the University Counseling Center (UCC), University Decker Health Services (UDHS), Residential Life, the Events Center, Intercollegiate Athletics, Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD), the Fleishman Career and Professional Development Center (FCPDC), the University Police Department (UPD), Human Resources (HR), Student Accounts (SA), Financial Aid and Student Records (FASR), the Undergraduate and Graduate Admissions offices, the International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) office, and the Office of Student Conduct (OSC) on all major problems, questions, and concerns as it relates to students. Dr. Edouard also created, implemented, developed, and now leads the Binghamton University Town Gown Advisory Board (TGAB) as Chair. Dr. Edouard is also the university’s professional liaison to our two major student businesses/organizations – the Binghamton University Student Association (SA), Inc. and the Binghamton University Graduate Student Organization (GSO), Inc.

Prior to taking on the aforementioned roles, Dr. Edouard was the Assistant Vice Provost for Admissions and Enrollment where he oversaw the university's strategic enrollment management practices in relation to organizational strategies by contributing information, analysis, and recommendations to strategic thinking and direction. He introduced Binghamton to the “Slate” CRM and he and his team consulted SUNY on the merits of the “Slate” CRM, which is what SUNY and many institutions within SUNY use today. He also established functional objectives in line with organizational objectives and instituted enrollment operations and recruitment strategies by evaluating trends, establishing critical measurements, determining production, productivity, quality, and student experience strategies, designing systems, accumulating and managing resources, resolving problems, and implementing positive change. In his leadership roles in the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) both at Binghamton University and Stony Brook University, Dr. Edouard was a key contributor to the implementation of the Residential Colleges model, which proved to be a highly successful vehicle in the promotion of sense of belonging, student engagement, and student success. Dr. Edouard's professional experience also includes formal training in crisis intervention and management. As a member of his former institution’s Incident Management Team (IMT), he has been trained by the National Incident Management System (NIMS) in the Incident Command System (ICS), which is a standardized on-scene emergency management construct specifically designed to provide the adoption of an integrated organizational structure that reflects the complexity and demands of single or multiple incidents without being hindered by jurisdictional boundaries. Dr. Edouard is currently certified and trained in ICS 300 (Intermediate ICS for Expanding Incidents) and ICS 400 (Advanced Incident Command Systems), which both require on-site training for multiple days culminating with a final examination that must be passed for certification. During his tenure at Stony Brook University, he served in many capacities including Assistant Director, Instructional Coordinator, Tutorial Program Coordinator, and Summer Program Coordinator for EOP, among other positions.

Prior to Stony Brook University, Dr. Edouard served as the Assistant Dean and Director of Developmental Education at Hofstra University. Dr. Edouard earned a bachelor's degree and a master's degree from Hofstra University, and his doctorate in Educational Theory, Research, and Practice at Binghamton University. His doctoral dissertation topic is "The Journey of African American Males in Senior Level Positions in Higher Education." Dr. Randall M-J Edouard is originally from Queens, New York and is married to Dr. Livia Gama Fagundes-Edouard, a native of Rondonópolis, Brazil and Queens, New York. Together, they have five daughters: Bianca, Daniella, Alyssa, Karisma, and Kalyse.

 

Headshot of Interim Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dorothy Escribano

Dorothy Escribano

interim provost & vice president for academic affairs

Dr. Dorothy Escribano joined SUNY Old Westbury on March 1, 2023.

With more than 30 years of faculty and administrative experience, Dr. Escribano brings significant expertise working for public and private institutions alike to her new role at Old Westbury. Most recently, she served as Interim President, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at The College of New Rochelle, where she was an integral member of the College's strategic planning process and Middle States reaccreditation visits. At College of New Rochelle, Dr. Escribano effectively administered and improved curriculum development, faculty development, assessment, institutional and program planning, accreditation and regulatory issues and enrollment management.  

Prior to her work at CNR, Dr. Escribano was a Vice President for Academic Affairs at Worcester State College in Massachusetts, where she held responsibilities for all academic resource management, academic support services, study abroad, partnerships, and programming. She has held faculty positions at Worcester State, Clark University, and University of Rhode Island.  

Dr. Escribano has a B.A. in Spanish from Marist College, an M.A. in Liberal Studies from Stony Brook University, an M.A. in Spanish Literature from the University of Rhode Island, and a Ph.D. in Hispanic Studies from Brown University. She has authored various publications including "Onboarding the 'Transitional Presidency': A New Imperative for Interim Presidential Leadership" and "The Power of the Journey: Beginnings and Endings Notwithstanding." 

 

Headshot of Executive Director, Teseria Ezzell, with a tree behind her

Teseria Bryant Ezzell

Executive Director of Human Resources

Teseria Bryant Ezzell joined SUNY Old Westbury as its new Executive Director of Human Resources, effective March 30, 2023. 

Teseria is an experienced human resource practitioner, most recently serving as a member of the human resources leadership team at Suffolk County Community College. While at Suffolk she was responsible for driving, leading, and executing HR strategies to meet the organizational goals of the largest multi-campus community college in New York State with over 3,000 employees. 

Teseria previously served as an HR generalist/business partner at Stony Brook University Hospital. She provided guidance and expertise regarding change management, talent management, employee relations, employee engagement, leave management, and performance management, among others. Her work in the private sector as a human resource manager for Nurses 24/7, and HR personnel coordinator at Bayada Nurses supports her wide breath of  knowledge in both the public and private sector. Teseria has stated her “expertise lies in successfully directing organizational planning and development through strategic initiatives and programs.” 

Teseria obtained a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from SUNY Stony Brook where she also minored in Political Science. Teseria completed a Masters of Business Administration at the University of Scranton.  She received certification from the Society for Human Resource Management and as a Professional in Human Resources.

 

Headshot of Michael Kavic

Michael Kavic

Associate Provost

Michael Kavic joined the faculty of SUNY Old Westbury as an associate professor in the Fall of 2018. In the fall of 2021, he was appointed the Assistant Provost for Research and Strategic Academic Initiatives. Prior to coming to SUNY Old Westbury, he served as a faculty member at Long Island University in Brooklyn and a visiting professor at the College of New Jersey in Ewing, NJ. He received his Ph.D. in Physics from Virginia Tech in 2009, his MS in Physics from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 2004, and two BS degrees in Physics and Astrophysics from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in 2002. He pioneered a line of research investigating astrophysical tests of extra-dimensional models and has worked extensively on foundational issues in quantum gravity with a focus on the problem of time.

He is currently investigating astronomical sources of radio transients with a particular emphasis on sources related to quantum gravitational models. Observational searches are conducted for such radio transient signals with a radio telescope array, the Long Wavelength Array (LWA) located in Socorro, NM. His work has been published in a variety of prestigious journals including Astrophysical Journal Letters (ApJL), Physical Review D Letter, and the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics (JCAP). His work has been featured in national periodicals such as Science Daily, Nature News, and New Scientist. He had recently been awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation supporting his work. His primary work as assistant provost is to enrich and enhance the support given to faculty and students engaged in active research efforts on the SUNY Old Westbury campus.

 

Michael Kinane portrait

Michael Kinane

Vice President for Communications AnD University Relations

Michael Kinane has been a member of the SUNY Old Westbury team since 2000 and currently manages all communications and government relations activities of the University. He served as the chief media relations officer since his appointment in 2000, led all marketing efforts for the campus from 2000-2023, and from 2005-2017 held additional responsibility for fundraising activities as Executive Director of the Old Westbury College Foundation, Inc. Prior to joining SUNY Old Westbury, Kinane had been a vice president/senior account manager with Epoch 5 Public Relations, among the leading public relations firms on Long Island. Kinane’s career also includes serving as Press Information Coordinator for The Culinary Institute of America and as a news reporter and anchor for three radio stations serving New York’s Mid-Hudson Valley.

Having earned an M.A. in Integrated Marketing and a B.A. in Communication Arts, both from Marist College, Kinane maintains an active role in professional and business organizations, including serving as president for the Advancement for Commerce, Industry and Technology and as an active member of Public Relations Society of America, International Association of Business Communicators, Society of Professional Journalists and Public Relations Professionals of Long Island.

 

Headshot of Gary Levanti in a suit and tie

Gary Levanti

Director Of The School of Professional Studies (Interim)

Gary Levanti joined SUNY Old Westbury as an Adjunct Instructor in 2016 and, from 2017 through 2023, served as the Assistant Director of the School of Professional Studies.

In addition to extensive teaching experience, both here and abroad, for institutions including Stony Brook University and the former NYU Polytechnic, he has significant experience in management, strategic planning, operations, and marketing in a career spanning more than 30 years.

He was named interim director of the School of Professional Studies in February 2024.

 

Headshot of Duncan Quarless

Duncan Quarless

Special Assistant to the President for Strategic Advancement

Dr. Duncan Quarless has 24 years of experience in higher education, in both teaching and administration.  Having served in multiple leadership positions - including Provost & Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Chair of the Old Westbury Faculty Senate, Associate Provost, and Director/Associate Director of the New York State funded Science/Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Programs (S/CSTEP) - he has advanced an academic vision ensuring intellectually rigorous academic curricula, the recruitment and retention of outstanding faculty, and the management of the strategic goals for the Division of Academic Affairs.  He has been deeply engaged in planning and implementing educational assessment, maintaining the high standards required for accreditation success.  

As a Professor of Chemistry, he has mentored numerous students at both the college and high school level, encouraging underrepresented students to excel in chemistry and in life.  During his academic tenure he brought in nearly $6M dollars in federal and state funding support for the College.  His published research is in the areas of bioinorganic chemistry and evidence-based pedagogy in the chemical sciences.  This work has been presented in regional, national and international venues, where he has also served in an advisory capacity.  Dr. Quarless earned his B.S. degree in biochemistry from the City University of New York College of Staten Island, his M.S. and Ph.D. in Chemistry from Stony Brook University, and he was a 2007 recipient of the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching.

 

Headshot of Lisandra Ramos

Lisandra Ramos

Special Assistant to the President, Administration & Initiatives

Lisandra María Ramos is the Special Assistant to the President, Administration, and Initiatives at SUNY OW. Ms. Ramos served as the Assistant Director of Administration at NYU’s Provostial Institute, the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics (Hemi), forging spaces of creative inquiry and critical practice that enlivened struggles for justice in the Americas. In her role, she led the operations of the Institute along with Hemi’s large-scale, biannual Encuentros, which gathered around 700 participants in different cities throughout the Americas. An alumna of the Lincoln Center Director’s Lab, the Women's Project Director's lab, and the National Association of Latinos Arts & Culture’s Leadership Institute (NALAC), Ms. Ramos has also been an instructor for EMERGEnyc, Cornell University, and NYU to name a few.

In addition to her administrative roles and teaching, Ms. Ramos is an artist. One of the Co-Founders and Co-Directors of Fulana, a Latina video, and satire collective, as well as a director,  producer, and writer of numerous plays in New York and Washington DC. Her play “Mariposa” was produced at Aaron Davis Hall in NYC. From short stories to theater and film, in 2020 she co-wrote and co-published her first fiction podcast, “Pawn Chain”, a podcast episode included in the series Ochenta Cuentos from Ochenta Studios.

In 2021, she co-curated “Resilience: 2021,” a virtual exhibition of West Harlem Arts, an initiative created to promote and support the collaborations between community arts organizations and celebrate the diversity of cultural programming available to the West Harlem community and its surrounding neighborhoods. Ms. Ramos has also been a contributing writer for several magazines, most recently her article “Allyship in Action: Training for the Apocalypse” was featured as part of Global Fluency Magazine.

Ms. Ramos currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Centro Cívico Cultural Dominicano. She holds a B.A. and M.A., an interdisciplinary degree from Union College and NYU’s Gallatin School respectively,  in addition to an M.F.A from NYU’s Graduate School of Arts & Science in creative writing.

 

Headshot of Jo-Ann Robinson

Jo-Ann Robinson

Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff

Dr. Jo-Ann Robinson has devoted her career to providing underserved populations with access to postsecondary education and ensuring colleges and universities institutionalize inclusive excellence across all university functions and operations. Dr. Robinson has been an educator for over thirty years. She began her career in secondary school education, teaching in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. As an administrator in higher education, she has worked in Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, Partnerships/Development and Community Engagement with colleges and universities across the country. 

Dr. Robinson currently serves as the Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff at SUNY Old Westbury. She formerly served as Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management at Bluefield State College and Wilberforce University. She successfully secured funding to establish a Suicide Prevention Program, GEAR UP and a National Minority Male Health Initiative and has led Admissions, Alumni Affairs, Athletics, Campus Police, Career Services, Counseling, Testing and Advising, Dean of Students, Financial Aid, Health Center, Residence Life, Retention Services, Student Life, and Student Support Services.

While at NC State University, she served as Assistant Vice Provost for Student Diversity and Director of Teaching Fellows in the College of Education. While serving as Associate Director of the University Honors Program, she developed the Office of Undergraduate Fellowship Advising to support students pursuing national scholarships and fellowships. She has directed academic and retention programs for underserved populations at The University of Texas at Austin and Florida Atlantic University. The “Gateway” retention model received the Noel Levitz Retention Excellence Award. 

Dr. Robinson has led strategic planning efforts, enhanced operational efficiency and student success as a leader in higher education. She is a published author and has presented on inclusive excellence, recruitment, retention as well facilitated numerous workshops and seminars on a local, state, and national level. She served on the Advisory Board for the Rotary Club of Bluefield, Jump Start for Arts, is Past President of Mercer County Kiwanis Club, and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. 

Dr. Robinson received a Ph.D. in Educational Research and Policy Analysis from North Carolina State University. A Master of Arts in Social Science with an emphasis in Counseling from Binghamton University, and a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology and Elementary Education Certification from the State University of New York, College at Brockport. Dr. Robinson is originally from Schenectady, New York and is married to Kelvin Robinson and has two sons Kelvin II and Taylor. 

 

Headshot of Martha Santana

Martha M. Santana

Vice President for Business & Finance and Chief Financial Officer

Ms. Martha M. Santana is our Vice President of Business and Finance and our Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Old Westbury, Ms. Santana had more than 15 years of senior-level financial and administrative experience, most recently serving as Deutsche Bank’s Private Equity Global Business Manager, in charge of the operations and finance of the business across five international jurisdictions with annual assets under management of over $8 billion. She was previously the Senior Project Manager in charge of the Shared Services Division within Deutsche Bank Asset Management, and Senior Executive Advisor for International, Institutional, and Remittance business for Banco de Reservas of the Dominican Republic. Ms. Santana received her MBA from New York University and her Bachelor's from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania.

 

Headshot of Shalei Simms in a taupe blazer and navy shirt

Shalei Simms

Dean, School of Business

Shalei V. K. Simms is the Dean of the School of Business and Associate Professor of Management at SUNY Old Westbury. She has presented her research both nationally and internationally, with her work appearing in such publications as Group Decisions and Negotiations journal and International Perspectives of Social Entrepreneurship Research. She holds a Ph.D. from Rutgers University and a B.A. from Wesleyan University.

 

Diana Sukhram

Diana Sukhram

Dean of the School of Education

Dr. Diana Jones-Sukhram is the Dean of the School of Education. She holds a Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of Illinois. She is passionate about teaching and learning and believes that our future leaders, especially those with disabilities, must be afforded a quality education if they are to compete with the rest of the world, become more intellectually sound individuals, and have better opportunities to become productive members of society. Dr. Jones-Sukhram is a native of Belize and has been at Old Westbury for 13 years. She has been instrumental in writing and implementing the special education graduate programs at OW. Her most recent projects include: My Brother’s Keeper Teacher Opportunity Corps II NYSED grant award; Western Suffolk BOCES state grant to promote the Teacher Diversity Pipeline program; developing graduate programs in Health and Technology Education with Farmingdale State College, and developing a partnership with NaRCIE and the Ministry of Education in Belize to provide Belizean educators with best practice strategies to better prepare them to address students’ diverse learning needs, as well as providing OW faculty and students with a rich educational and cultural experience. Her professional and scholarship agenda includes 8 published articles in journals such as: Exceptional Children; Journal of International Special Needs Education, Early Childhood Education, and the British Journal of Special Education, and 42 national, regional, and international conference presentations. She is also actively engaged as an Advisory Board member for the STEP Program at Old Westbury. 

 

Professional Headshot of Bryan Terry in a suit and tie

Bryan Terry

vice president of enrollment management & marketing

Dr. Bryan Terry was appointed Vice President for Enrollment Management and Marketing at SUNY Old Westbury, effective April 18, 2023.
 
Dr. Terry is a dynamic leader with 30 years of enrollment management experience. He has a track record of building best-in-class enrollment management organizations. With a focus on innovation, business process improvement, and operational efficiency, he has served as vice chancellor at Arkansas State University and UNC Greensboro in North Carolina.

Dr. Terry was the associate vice president at Montclair State University and Seton Hall University in New Jersey. Additionally, he served as special assistant to the assistant dean of enrollment at the University of Miami and was director of financial aid at Florida A&M University, in addition to other roles at public and private institutions across the county.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, a Master of Human Resource Management from Thomas Edison State College, a Master of Business Administration from Fontbonne College, and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration and Foundation from Illinois State University. 

Angela Wambugu Cobb

Angela Wambugu Cobb

Vice President for institutional Advancement

Angela Wambugu Cobb has over 20 years as a trusted fundraising executive having worked with leading higher education, social justice, international human rights, health and social service organizations. She has developed her career as a strategic planner, program and infrastructure developer, as well as a partner in service to underserved and marginalized communities.

In Fall of 2022 Ms. Wambugu Cobb began her tenure as the Vice President for Institutional Advancement and Executive Director of the Old Westbury College Foundation at SUNY Old Westbury. In her capacity, she oversees private individual and organizational fundraising for the college, as well as alumni relations, community engagement and program development. In addition, she serves concurrently as the executive director of the Old Westbury College Foundation, Inc., a private 501(c)(3) organization which is charged with advancing the mission and strategic goals of SUNY Old Westbury to support of student success, research, special initiatives and community service through fundraising and community partnerships.

Previously, Ms. Wambugu Cobb worked in an executive capacity for fourteen years at the City University of New York (CUNY). She served eight years at CUNY’s Bronx Community College (BCC) as the Assistant Vice President for Development, and six years at CUNY’s LaGuardia Community College as Director of Development. In those roles she managed alumni relations, grants, and most notably, directed both college’s private fundraising efforts in support of scholarships, historic preservation, student resources, social justice initiatives and special programs. In addition, she worked very closely with the colleges’ foundation boards of directors, spearheaded graduation initiatives, created scholarships and helped institute leadership and diversity education programs for students.

Ms. Wambugu Cobb has also served as Assistant Director for Major Gifts at Amnesty International USA, Director of Foundation Relations at St. John’s University, and held multiple roles at the National Hemophilia Foundation.

Ms. Wambugu Cobb is a native New Yorker and attained her Master of Arts in Urban Studies from CUNY – Queens College, and her Bachelor of Science in Legal Studies from St. John’s University.

 

Dean Wilson with a white blouse and royal blue blazer

Cheryl Wilson

Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences

Dr. Cheryl A. Wilson is Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences and Professor of English at SUNY College at Old Westbury. She has worked in higher education as both a faculty member and administrator for more than fifteen years with a focus on interdisciplinary work, faculty development, inclusive curriculum design, and academic program development and assessment. Prior to coming to OW, Dr. Wilson served as Dean of the School of Humanities & Social Sciences and Vice Provost for Academic Affairs at Stevenson University in Maryland and Chair of the Klein Family School of Communications Design at the University of Baltimore. At SU, she collaborated with faculty to develop the university’s first doctoral program, served on the MSCHE steering committee, and worked on cross-campus student success initiatives. Dr. Wilson also oversaw the specialty scholars programs and Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. At UB, she led a cross-campus student success initiative as Special Assistant to the President to support student persistence and retention.

Dr. Wilson received her B.A. in English from SUNY Geneseo and her M.A. and Ph.D. in English from the University of Delaware; she served as graduate and undergraduate faculty at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and the University of Baltimore, teaching courses in Victorian and Romantic literature and Women’s Studies. Her scholarly work includes six books and more than two dozen articles on nineteenth-century British literature with a focus on women’s writing and the integration of literature and performance, and she serves on the boards of the British Women Writers’ Association and Midwest Victorian Studies Association. Recent publications include Literature and Dance in Nineteenth-Century Women’s Writing (Cambridge UP, 2009), Fashioning the Silver Fork Novel (Pickering & Chatto, 2012), Jane Austen and the Victorian Heroine (Palgrave, 2017), The Routledge Companion to Jane Austen (co-edited with Maria Frawley, 2021).