UTICA - Key Persons


Adam J. Ziobrowski

Job Titles:
  • Staff

Ambrose J. deFlumere - President

Job Titles:
  • President

Ann E. Damiano

Job Titles:
  • Senior Associate Provost

Ann Marie Acquaviva

Job Titles:
  • Staff

Anthony M. Baird

Job Titles:
  • VP DEI / Student Transition / CDO

Civita M. Allard

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor Nursing

Claudette A. Abounader

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor of Nursing
Claudette Abounader is an Assistant Professor of Nursing. She has a B.S. and M.S. from Syracuse University as well as credentialing as an adult nurse practitioner post master certificate from Syracuse University. Her research interests are teaching methods and student academic achievement. Education A.A.S. Mohawk Valley Community College B.S., M.S. Syracuse University

Clearwater Beach

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Officers Team

Dan-Harley Amady


Daniel Alvarado


Dave S. Fontaine

Job Titles:
  • Director PE & Athletics

Dr. Aimee Zellers

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor of Philosophy at Carlow University

Dr. Gerard T. Capraro - President

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Officers Team
  • President

Dr. Harold J. Rankin

Job Titles:
  • Acting President

Dr. J. Kenneth Donahue - President

Job Titles:
  • President

Dr. James W. Harrison

Job Titles:
  • Dean

Dr. Jonathan Zimmerman

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Dr. Lansing G. Baker - President

Job Titles:
  • President

Dr. Laura M. Casamento - President

Job Titles:
  • President

Dr. Michael Simpson - President

Job Titles:
  • President

Dr. Thomas D. Sheldon - President

Job Titles:
  • President

Dr. Thomas G. Brown

Job Titles:
  • Interim President

Dr. Todd S. Hutton

Job Titles:
  • President Emeritus

Dr. Winton Tolles

Job Titles:
  • Dean

Harold T. Clark

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Isha H Abdalla

Job Titles:
  • Staff

Joseph F. Zogby

Job Titles:
  • Staff

Kelly L. Adams

Job Titles:
  • VP Pres.Affairs / Mkt & Comm

Laurence G. Zoeckler


Linda J. Aaronson

Job Titles:
  • Adjunct Professor of Health Studies

Mr. Christian W. Meyer, III - VP

Job Titles:
  • Trustee
  • Vice President

Mr. Christopher J. Crolius

Job Titles:
  • Trustee
  • Founding Principal

Mr. Daniel B. Jones

Job Titles:
  • Trustee
  • Managing Director / Northwestern Mutual Financial / New Hartford, NY

Mr. Eugene F. Quadraro Jr. - COO

Job Titles:
  • Director of Operations
  • Trustee

Mr. Frederick C. Degen

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

Mr. Harry J. Cynkus - CFO, SVP, Treasurer

Job Titles:
  • CFO
  • SVP
  • Treasurer
  • Trustee

Mr. James F. DuRoss Jr.

Job Titles:
  • Trustee
  • Independent Contractor / Utica, NY

Mr. Jeffery S. Whalley

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

Mr. Jeremy C. Thurston - President

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Officers Team
  • President

Mr. John A. Forte

Job Titles:
  • Financial Advisor
  • Owner
  • Trustee

Mr. John H. Snyder

Job Titles:
  • Partner
  • Trustee

Mr. John P. Casellini

Job Titles:
  • Principal
  • Trustee

Mr. Kenneth D. Bell - President

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Officers Team
  • President

Mr. Larry E. Bull - CEO, President

Job Titles:
  • CEO
  • President
  • Trustee

Mr. Mark A. Pilipczuk

Job Titles:
  • Trustee
  • Managing Director / MAP Consulting, LLC / Centreville, VA

Mr. Robert A. Brvenik - President

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Officers Team
  • President

Mr. Ronald A. Cuccaro - Chairman

Job Titles:
  • Executive Chairman
  • Trustee

Mr. Solade E. Rowe

Job Titles:
  • Trustee
  • Managing Partner, Diversity & Inclusion Practice / Jobplex, Inc

Mr. Tanner C. Stewart

Job Titles:
  • Trustee
  • Wealth Management Advisor / Field Director

Mr. Wester E. Miga

Job Titles:
  • Trustee
  • Account Manager ( Retired )

Mrs. Krista M. DiBerardino

Job Titles:
  • Executive
  • Member of the Officers Team

Ms. Heidi M. Hoeller

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Officers Team
  • 91 / Partner ( Retired )

Ms. Treesa J. Salter

Job Titles:
  • Program Director
  • Trustee

Ms. Tricia Rutkowski - President

Job Titles:
  • President
  • Trustee

Pamela J. Salmon

Job Titles:
  • VP Financial Affairs

Polly J. Smith

Job Titles:
  • Professor
  • SVP for Market Innovation and New Ventures / Senior Associate Provost for OES
Professor Smith specializes in the use of GIS technology and is an active participant within the field of sociology. She has worked in depth on a variety of local and national projects via the Lewis Mumford Center for Comparative and Urban Regional Research formally located at the University of Albany.

Ralph F. Strebel

Job Titles:
  • Dean

Raymond A. Alessandrini

Job Titles:
  • Adjunct Professor of Occupational Therapy

Rebecca A. Zimmerman

Job Titles:
  • Adjunct Lecturer of Social Work

Robert R Allen

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Director of Campus Safety
  • Staff
Robert Allen is an Assistant Director of Campus Safety's overnight shift; Bob was hired by the University in July of 2022. Bob has been in the Law Enforcement / Security field since he graduated from Bainbridge-Guilford High School in Chenango County in 1982. After graduation, Bob enlisted in the United States Army as a Military Police and was stationed at Ft. Meade, MD from 1982 to 1985. Bob finished his three-year commitment with the Army and attended Mohawk Valley Community College from 1985 to 1987 where he received his Associates Degree in Criminal Justice. While attending college, he joined the 107th Military Police Company and worked Security at Riverside Mall. In 1988, he was promoted to Director of Security of Riverside Mall until 1989, when he was hired by the Village of Whitesboro Police Department. During his 25-year career with Whitesboro Police Department, Bob became the department's first K-9 handler/ trainer.

Samantha R. Ackerman

Job Titles:
  • Staff

Shad M. Crowe

Job Titles:
  • VP for Facilities & Emg Mgt

Shirley M Alquiza


Stephanie R. Nesbitt - Chief Risk Officer

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor
  • Director of Risk Management
  • Interim Provost, SVP Academic Affairs
Stephanie Nesbitt, Assistant Professor and Director of Risk Management and Insurance, received her J.D. from the University at Buffalo School of Law, her M.B.A. from Syracuse University and her B.A. in Speech Communication from Ithaca College. Stephanie has 18+ years of experience working in the risk management and insurance industry and as an attorney, and is licensed to practice law in the State of New York. Her research is in the development and effective teaching of business education programs and legal issues in Cyber Security, she is a former Wiley Faculty Fellow. Prior to joining UC, she was Risk Manager and Associate Counsel for Faxton-St. Luke's Healthcare. Stephanie holds a 2nd degree black belt in karate and is an avid, albeit slow, runner. Education B.A. Ithaca College J.D. University at Buffalo M.B.A. Syracuse University

Susan E. Ackerman

Job Titles:
  • Staff

The Honorable Samuel D. Hester

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

Timothy Abraham

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor of Wellness
  • Associate Professor of Physical Education, Exercise & Wellness Studies
Tim Abraham, Assistant Professor of Wellness and Adventure Education, earned his bachelor's degree and master's degree in Kinesiology from the University of Illinois. Abraham served as Head Athletic Trainer of the Washington Nationals major league baseball team before coming to central New York to serve as Sports Medicine Outreach Coordinator at Slocum-Dickson Medical Group from 2008-2017. His hobbies include beekeeping, fitness, and outdoor sports. Education B.S. University of Illinois at Chicago M.S. University of Illinois Urbana

Todd J. Pfannestiel - President

Job Titles:
  • President
  • Trustee
  • Ex Officio / President / Utica University / Utica, NY
  • Tenth President
Dr. Todd Pfannestiel is the tenth President of Utica University, taking office on August 1, 2023. President Pfannestiel has 25 years of experience in higher education, as a faculty member, school dean, and senior administrator. Through the course of his tenure as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Utica, he has led and collaborated closely with faculty on a variety of initiatives to raise the academic profile of the University and further its mission. Chief among these achievements was the recently implemented redesign of the University's general education curriculum, as well as the launch of a number of innovative academic programs designed to address emerging workforce and societal needs. Drawing on his own experience as a first-generation college student at the University of Arkansas, Dr. Pfannestiel possesses a deep and abiding appreciation for the transformative power of higher education. Under his leadership, the University has met a rapidly changing undergraduate market with its first A.S. and B.B.A. degree programs, providing a greater variety of career pathways for students of all backgrounds. Prior to joining Utica University, Dr. Pfannestiel served on the faculty of Clarion University of Pennsylvania for 20 years, earning the rank of Professor of History. During his time at Clarion, he also served as Dean of the College of Arts, Education, and Sciences, Interim Provost, and Acting President. Dr. Pfannestiel earned his Ph.D. in History from the College of William and Mary, where he was a Woodrow Wilson Foundation Fellow in the Humanities; completed post-graduate studies at Duke University as a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow in Economics, and completed his B.A. in History and Economics at the University of Arkansas as a Fulbright College Scholar summa cum laude. A native of Sapulpa, Oklahoma, he is married to Dr. Aimee Zellers, an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Carlow University.

VP DEI

Job Titles:
  • Student Transition / CDO
  • VP DEI / Student Transition / CDO