Nader to retire as Farmingdale State College president

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John Nader, the president of Farmingdale State College, has announced his plans to retire. A search for a new president is expected to begin shortly.

In a letter to the campus community, Nader, who had already announced his intention to retire to SUNY Chancellor John King, Jr., said that serving as Farmingdale State president “remains an honor and a privilege.”

He added that serving “Farmingdale has been, both personally and professionally, the most rewarding and enjoyable time of my four decades in the State University of New York system.”

Nader joined Farmingdale State in July of 2016, in a career that included a stint as provost as SUNY Delhi and in government as mayor of Oneonta. He brought with him to Farmingdale a doctorate in economics, and governmental expertise.

Under his tenure as president of the college, he led several capital improvement projects, with some currently underway. In 2022 he helped secure $75 million in state funding for a new Computer Science Building to address the technology needs of the college and the region. In 2023 the college fully renovated its Health and Wellness Center to better serve students and the campus community.

During his first year as college president Nader had 10 “key goals” he had set, he said in the letter.

“These goals touch on areas including diversity, faculty hiring, program development, new construction, fundraising, student engagement, campus beautification, and raising the profile” of the college, Nader said in the letter. “I am thankful that in each of these areas, and many others, our objectives have been achieved or we are making great strides in doing so.”

Those strides, he said, are “due to the remarkable work and commitment” of the campus “faculty, staff, and students who have embraced a broad and inclusive vision for FSC.”

Together with campus leaders, SUNY is expected to establish a committee to conduct a search for the college’s next president. The goal is to complete the search by the summer of 2024.

Nader said he would continue as college president until the search process is completed.