School of Public Health alum Alberto Cardelle (SPH’89) has been named president of the State University of New York (SUNY) at Oneonta.

Most recently, Cardelle was the provost and vice president of academic affairs at Fitchburg State University (FSU) in Massachusetts, where he oversaw admissions, student success services, and international education, and worked with faculty to develop over 10 new degree programs.

While at FSU, Cardelle was involved with several initiatives to support students and enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion on campus. He led the development and implementation of the university’s new outcome-based general education curriculum, which includes a First Year Experience course for all incoming students and a required high-impact practice course involving internships, research, international education, or civic engagement. He also worked with colleagues to create the Leading for Change Initiative, which aims to establish a range of school-wide initiatives to enhance diversity to ensure student success and equity.  And with a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, he created the Heritage Language Program, which provides high-achieving bilingual students with support services and celebrates their linguistic asset of being bilingual.

Cardelle began his academic career at East Stroudsburg University in 1999 as an assistant professor of public health, and later shifted into administration to have a larger impact on institution-wide policies and increase opportunities for students.

“Because of my lived experience of trying to navigate college without much support, I have always wanted to be in a position where I can have an impact on policies that lower barriers to equitable access,” he says. “I have always believed that higher education was among the most important vehicles for achieving a more equitable society, and although I love and miss teaching, I feel I can be a better administrator because I was in front of a classroom for over 13 years.”

SUNY Oneonta has a reputation of preparing students for success, and Cardelle says he hopes to continue to strengthen these initiatives and broaden opportunities that exist at the university to all students. Through his role as president, he also hopes to develop stronger partnerships with the City of Oneonta and position the school as a strong advocate for economic and community development.

Cardelle received a master’s of public health from SPH and a doctorate in international studies with a focus in comparative health policy from the University of Miami.

He will start his new role at SUNY Oneonta in September.