Utica Names Laura Casamento Next President
Utica College
The Utica College Board of Trustees has selected Laura Casamento as the college’s next president. Effective August 1, 2016, she will be appointed as UC’s ninth president – and the first female chief executive officer in the College’s history.
Casamento will succeed Dr. Todd S. Hutton, UC’s longest-serving president, who will retire on the 18th anniversary of his appointment after leading the institution during an unprecedented period of growth.
“I want to thank the Board of Trustees for this opportunity,” Casamento said. “As a lifelong resident of the Mohawk Valley, I have enormous respect for what Utica College means to this region, to generations of alumni, and to the unbelievably dedicated faculty and staff who have so passionately served the College since its founding. I consider it a great honor to partner with the entire Utica College family and lead the effort to achieve even greater levels of success for our students and the communities we serve.”
Board of Trustees Chairperson Mark Pilipczuk said, “Eleven months ago, when the Board put together this presidential search, we were determined to find a dynamic, future-focused leader who could support and build upon this institution’s current trajectory as a leader in an innovative approach to higher education, and, working together with our faculty and administrative team, lead us into a new era. The Board strongly believes that we’ve found such a leader.”
Casamento, currently UC’s executive vice president and chief advancement officer, has more than 20 years of senior executive experience in the private sector and higher education. Since arriving at UC in 2004, she has played a major role in increasing external funding to the institution, strengthening the institution’s financial position and thereby making it possible to improve the teaching and learning environment. She also co-led the team that developed the college’s tuition reset strategy.
In her current role, she is responsible for three major operational divisions of the college: advancement planning and administration, including development and campaign planning and management, marketing and communications, alumni and parent relations, government relations, grants and sponsored research management; financial planning, administration, and analysis, including the operational areas of financial affairs (controller and budget, payroll, contract and other auxiliary services); and strategic enrollment planning and management, including undergraduate, graduate, international admissions, online and extended campus admissions, and student financial services.
Prior to joining Utica College, Casamento was president and chief operating officer of Herkimer County Trust, an independently owned, state chartered bank located in central New York. She served as president from April 1998 until December 2002, when the bank was sold to The Savings Bank of Utica (now part of M&T). The bank had assets of $350 million and 12 retail locations. She oversaw a 65 percent increase in net income during her tenure as president, resulting in the bank being sold at nearly 2.5 times book value.
Casamento presently serves on numerous local boards including Mohawk Valley Economic Development Growth Enterprises (EDGE), the Kelberman Center, and Patriot Federal Bank. She is a member of the Strategy Team for MV500, and previously served on the boards of the Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties, Excellus - Utica Region, and The Woman's Fund. In addition, she chaired the 2003-2004 United Way of Greater Utica Campaign.
She is currently pursuing her Doctor of Education in the Executive Doctorate in Higher Education Management program at the University of Pennsylvania, with an anticipated graduation date of May 2016, and she holds an M.B.A. in management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.