MARCY — Andrew L. Russell has been appointed Officer In Charge of SUNY Polytechnic Institute by SUNY Interim Chancellor Deborah F. Stanley. The appointment is effective today, following Tod Laursen’s two-year tenure as acting president of the college.

Stanley also charged the SUNY Poly College Council to immediately launch a national search for a permanent president of SUNY Poly’s Utica campus.

“We are delighted Dr. Russell will become the Officer in Charge at SUNY Polytechnic Institute. His years of leadership as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences have highlighted his ability to provide a steady hand to enable student academic success,” said RoAnn Destito, chair of the SUNY Polytechnic Institute College Council. “In this new role, Dr. Russell will also further advance exciting research opportunities while he undoubtedly provides strong reassurance that the institution will continue to progress and serve our community and New York State.” 

“SUNY Poly is globally recognized for its academic programs which are targeted to provide students with the experiential skills to thrive in some of the most in-demand careers, and I am honored that Chancellor Stanley, with the SUNY Board of Trustees, have entrusted me to serve as this institution’s Officer in Charge,” Russell said. “In this capacity I not only look forward to working with SUNY Poly’s talented faculty, staff, students, and alumni, but I am also eager to collaborate closely with our governmental and industrial partners to further build upon this institution’s legacy of economic empowerment and community engagement as we seek to move SUNY Poly forward.”

Russell has served SUNY Poly as dean and professor of History for the College of Arts & Sciences based at the institution’s Utica campus. In addition to administering the 11 undergraduate and graduate programs within the college, he directs the strategy, policies, and processes for the school; supports faculty; and guides proposals for new programs in data science and communications, among other responsibilities.

He is a member of SUNY Poly’s retention and enrollment steering committee, served as co-chair of the campus proposal for Promoting Recruitment, Opportunity, Diversity, Inclusion and Growth (PRODiG), and member of the Educational Opportunity Program Advisory Council.

Before joining SUNY Poly, Russell held roles of increasing responsibility at Stevens Institute of Technology.

He rose from director of program in Science & Technology Studies to chief academic officer for the College of Arts & Letters. There he was promoted to associate professor of History.

Russell is a scholar and author, most recently of the book, Circuits, Packets, and Protocols: Entrepreneurs and Computer Communications, 1968-1988, and an active member of multiple professional organizations, including the American Historical Association and the Society for the History of Technology. He earned his bachelor of arts in history at Vassar College, his master of arts at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and doctorate in history of science, medicine, and technology from The Johns Hopkins University.