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SUNY Potsdam to inaugurate first woman president Friday

Posted 4/23/15

POTSDAM -- SUNY Potsdam’s inauguration celebration in honor of the institution's sixteenth president and the first woman to lead the college, Kristin G. Esterberg, is slated for Friday, April 24. …

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SUNY Potsdam to inaugurate first woman president Friday

Posted

POTSDAM -- SUNY Potsdam’s inauguration celebration in honor of the institution's sixteenth president and the first woman to lead the college, Kristin G. Esterberg, is slated for Friday, April 24.

Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher will attend the installation ceremony at 11:30 a.m. in the Helen M. Hosmer Concert Hall at SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music.

Esterberg was appointed the new president April 3. She previously served as the provost and academic vice president at Salem State University in Salem, Massachusetts. Esterberg replaced SUNY Potsdam Interim President Dr. Dennis L. Hefner, who came to the campus in June 2013 after John F. Schwaller announced in November 2012 that he would step down from the presidency following a seven-year tenure. The Voices of Victory gospel choir will lead the processional, which will include delegates from colleges and universities from across the country, as well as faculty, staff, trustees and representatives from student clubs and honor societies. Representatives from the faculty, student body, the Potsdam College Foundation, alumni and community will offer greetings to the president.

Professor of Modern Languages Oscar Sarmiento will do a commemorative reading during the ceremony. The Frackenpohl Honors Brass Quintet will present several new works which have been composed for the occasion by Crane School of Music Professor David Heinick.

The Hosmer Choir will also perform during the ceremony. In addition, there will be a recessional piece for organ premiered, which was written by Crane School of Music Dean Michael Sitton.

Immediately following the ceremony, there will be an installation reception at 1 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center lobby.

Festival performances are planned from 3 to 9 p.m., including a Crane Latin Ensemble concert, student one-act plays, a poetry reading by Espada and a Chinese children's theatre performance.

At 9 p.m., Esterberg and her family will attend an evening dessert party with fireworks, to be held in the Knowles Hall Multi-Purpose Room.

Esterberg and her spouse, Sue Bergmeier, have two daughters. Katie is a first-year student at neighboring St. Lawrence University in Canton, and Qiong Qiong will attend Potsdam Central High School. Esterberg’s salary is set at $215,000.

The event serves as the kickoff of the fourth annual Lougheed-Kofoed Festival of the Arts which runs April 24 through May 3. The LoKo Festival includes a wide array of events, including author readings, theater productions, multimedia presentations, art openings, special exhibitions, public lectures, masterclasses and concerts.