During the American Association of State Colleges and Universities’ (AASCU) annual meeting in Puerto Rico last month, SUNY Oneonta President Alberto Cardelle was one of five university presidents and chancellors elected to serve on the board of directors for a three-year appointment.
AASCU is a Washington, D.C.-based higher education association that represents the sector of over 500 regional public colleges, universities and systems “whose members share a learning- and teaching-centered culture, a historic commitment to underrepresented student populations, and a dedication to research and creativity that advances their regions’ economic progress and cultural development. These are institutions delivering American’s promise.”
“I am honored to join the AASCU board of directors. It is the premiere higher education association for public regional universities,” Cardelle said. “Our mission at SUNY Oneonta is closely aligned with AASCU’s commitment to public education and underserved student populations. Working with AASCU to support and advocate for our institutions will help us all reach our common goal - to ensure equitable student success.”
In 2021, Cardelle was appointed by the State University of New York (SUNY) Board of Trustees as the ninth president of SUNY Oneonta. Under his leadership, the University has taken an integrated approach to supporting student success, building community, and making connections through engaged learning, scholarship, service, leadership, decision making and cross-divisional collaboration.
A staunch champion of the University’s core values of diversity, equity and inclusion, Dr. Cardelle focuses on establishing a broad array of institutional initiatives aimed at inclusion and diversity with the long-term goals of student success and equity.
Before coming to SUNY Oneonta, Dr. Cardelle served as provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts. Prior to his career in higher education, Dr. Cardelle spent a decade working in health care with The World Health Organization, the American Medical Student Association, UNICEF and Oxfam America.
Combining his background in health care and higher education, President Cardelle was also selected by New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul to serve on the New York State Health Equity Council in spring 2024. His work with this council will focus on raising awareness about the health of racial, ethnic and other underserved populations; increasing the engagement of local grassroots communities in public health advocacy and research; and increasing the number of racial, ethnic and other underrepresented individuals that work in public health.
A first-generation American citizen from Miami, Fla., Dr. Cardelle earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and Latin American Studies from Tulane University in 1986, Master of Public Health degree from Boston University in 1989, and a doctoral degree in international studies from the University of Miami in 1999.