Release

Herbst Named Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
Peekskill native to assume post in August

Contact: Catherine Herman (518) 437-4980

Susan Herbst

ALBANY, N.Y. (June 10, 2005) - Susan Herbst, dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Temple University and professor of political science, has been named provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University at Albany.

Herbst has been responsible for strategic planning, finances, recruitment, fundraising, and alumni affairs of the college, which has more than 4,400 students, 25 departments, programs and centers, and an operating budget of more than $35 million, since 2003. At Temple, Herbst also participated in university governance, including serving on the Council of Deans and creating the university's first Board of Visitors for the College of Liberal Arts. She previously held positions at Northwestern University, including associate dean for faculty affairs, chair of the political science department, program director for American studies, and chair of the Northwestern University Commission on Women. Herbst has authored numerous academic works, including Reading Public Opinion: Political Actors View the Democratic Process (University of Chicago Press, 1998) and Politics at the Margin: Historical Studies of Public Expression Outside the Mainstream (Cambridge University Press, 1994). She is a graduate of Duke University and received her doctorate in communication theory and research from the University of Southern California, Annenberg School for Communications, in Los Angeles. She has also completed advanced research and study at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

University at Albany President Kermit L. Hall said, "I'm delighted to announce the appointment of Susan Herbst as the new provost and executive vice president of academic affairs. Dr. Herbst is universally recognized as one of the rising stars of American higher education administration. She brings a record of outstanding scholarship and demonstrated administrative skills to her role as the number two person at the University. The fact that she is a native of Peekskill, New York will serve the University especially well. I want to thank UAlbany Professor John Pipkin and the University search committee for acting with such energy to fill this important position."

In response to the announcement of her appointment, Herbst said, "I am honored to accept this post and look forward to working with President Hall, faculty, staff and students. As a native of the Hudson Valley, I am thrilled to come back home and be a part of this great research university."

Herbst, who will assume the post in August, succeeds Interim Provost Jeryl Mumpower.