LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. — Kevin Mackin, the ninth president of Siena College, will be stepping down at the conclusion of his term on May 31, 2007. He will have served as president of Siena for 11 years.
Kevin, a popular tenured professor in the Religious Studies Department, will then take a sabbatical before returning to the classroom.
Under his leadership, Siena has reached unprecedented growth in academics, with 192 full time faculty (up from 143 in fall 1996), offering 25 major fields of study and a fully developed honors program to over 3,000 students.
Siena’s endowment has grown to over $120 million, and recent additions to the physical campus include the state-of-the-art Standish Library, the Sarazen Student Union, Key Auditorium, the Morrell Science Center, and the Hickey Financial Technology Center. This summer, the College anticipates acquiring the 13 acre State Police property across Route 9, as well as remodeling Serra Dining Hall and installing a high-tech synthetic turf field.
Other highlights during Kevin’s time at Siena include a strong pre-law program, the Franciscan Center for Service and Advocacy, undergraduate nanotechnology courses, and the Center for the Study of Government and Politics.
“Father Kevin’s record as president has been superb,” said Dr. Joseph M. Pastore, Jr., chairman of Siena’s Board of Trustees and a professor emeritus in residence of the Lubin School of Business at Pace University. Under his leadership, Siena College has added new academic programs, elevated academic excellence, provided enrollment and fiscal stability, built its endowment, and added major new and renovated facilities. On a personal level, Fr. Kevin represents all that Siena College hopes to see in its alumni: an exemplary personal and professional character and a spirit of service to the community. We are grateful he will be with us for another year, and we look forward to celebrating his contributions to the College.”
In addition to presidential leadership, Kevin is a commissioner of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, the organization that accredits more than 500 colleges and universities. He also serves on the board of directors of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, with over 200 institutions, and chairs the Association of Franciscan Colleges and Universities, and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Council of Presidents. He is a former trustee of the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities.
Complementing years of executive experience overseeing multi-million dollar budgets, he is a certified fund-raiser affiliated with the Association of Fund-Raising-Professionals.
He has also been active on the board of directors of the Albany-Colonie Chamber of Commerce, and the advisory board for KeyBank National Association’s Capital Region district. He shepherds Siena’s membership in the Center for Economic Growth and other groups.
Kevin enjoys regularly celebrating liturgies at local parishes and leads televised liturgies. He is also in demand for introductions and invocations and has been recognized for his many efforts. Parsons Child and Family Center and Teresian House presented him with humanitarian awards.
On March 22, the Sales and Marketing Executives of Eastern New York presented Kevin with their 2006 Marketer-Executive-Citizen Award (prior recipients include mayors of Albany, N.Y., and Bishop Howard J. Hubbard).
What’s next for Kevin? After stepping down next year, “I look forward to a sabbatical, preparing some academic texts, returning to the classroom, and other opportunities,” he said.
“I’m particularly honored,” he adds, “that student leaders boast of their relationship with – and affection for – Siena and the Franciscan tradition. It’s satisfying to wind up on that note.”
Three prior Siena College presidents survive: Matthew Conlin, who served 1970 to 1976, Hugh Hines, 1976 to 1989, and William McConville, 1989 to 1996.