March 11, 2000

Ramapo College President Robert A. Scott Selected To Lead Adelphi University

(Mahwah) -- Dr. Robert A. Scott, president of Ramapo College of New Jersey for more than half of its 29-year history, announced today that he is accepting an appointment to become president of Adelphi University effective July 15. His tenure at Ramapo has been marked by rising enrollments, increasingly rigorous admissions standards, a construction boom, fiscal stability, the addition of three graduate degree programs and numerous other programs and new majors, global partnerships with schools, universities, corporations and organizations, and a focus on "the four pillars" of a Ramapo education: international, multicultural, interdisciplinary, and experiential.

"For 15 years, Dr. Scott has been ‘Mr. Ramapo,’" said Board of Trustees Chairman Thomas W. Dunn . "Through his leadership, Ramapo has been transformed into a college of choice for many students from New Jersey, the United States and the world. Ramapo will miss his dynamic energy, his ability to promote generosity from donors, his academic leadership and his wise counsel. The Board of Trustees extends best wishes to Dr. Scott and to Adelphi University." Dunn went on to say, "An interim leader will be appointed by the Board to guide the College while a nationwide search is conducted for its next president."

In a letter to his Ramapo colleagues, Scott stated: "This was not an easy decision to make. I have deep relationships here, and Ramapo is an important part of me. I have experienced great challenges I never before imagined. I have grown as a person in ways I never anticipated. I have learned much more than I ever dreamed possible." He went on to say, "There is much to recall. We recently completed our Middle States review (accreditation) with wonderful recognition. We opened the Berrie Center, achieved our enrollment and financial goals, and developed our graduate mission. We completed the largest comprehensive capital campaign of any of the state colleges and earned a Kresge Challenge Grant. We established our commitment to turn this ‘regional gem’ into a ‘national jewel.’"

A leader in national and international higher education circles, Scott is co-founder and past chair of the Council on Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC). In 1994 he served as Governor Christine Todd Whitman’s appointee as senior consultant to the newly formed New Jersey Commission on Higher Education and chaired the Higher Education Restructuring Implementation team. As senior advisor to the U.S. State Department Scott represented the United States at UNESCO’s (United National Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization) 1998 Paris conference to negotiate a treaty on the transferability of academic credits and credentials. In 1999 he was a member of the U.S. delegation at UNESCO’s World Conference on Higher Education. He is a member of the Congressionally-mandated Study Group of the federal student loan programs; director, Global Kids, Inc.; and past chair, American Council on Education Commission on International Education.

Honored by his alma mater, Bucknell University, for "exemplary achievement in his chosen profession," Scott also received NYU’s Presidential Medal, "in recognition of extraordinary efforts in the service of higher education." He sits on a number of corporate boards including American Educational Products, Inc. (AMEP) and Hillcrest Health Service Systems, Inc.

A prolific writer, Scott is the author of more than 200 articles, essays, invited presentations, and reviews published in professional and popular journals. He is the author, editor or contributor to nine books and monographs on public policy and post-secondary education, including Lords, Squires and Yeomen: Collegiate Middle-Managers and their Organizations, and Internationalizing the Undergraduate Curriculum: A Handbook for Campus Leaders.

Prior to assuming the presidency of Ramapo in June 1985, Scott was assistant commissioner for the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, and associate dean and senior administrator of the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University. He earned a B.A. from Bucknell University and a Ph.D from Cornell University.