Dr. Kristine D. Duffy

Senior Strategic Advisor — [email protected]
 

Kristine D. Duffy, Ed. D., served as the seventh president of SUNY Adirondack for twelve years, making her the second-longest-serving president in the institution’s history. As president, she led a multi-campus community college serving 6,000 students annually with a $31M operating budget and 385 employees. Her prior experiences included leadership positions at Onondaga Community College and Cayuga Community College, preceded by administrative and counseling roles in higher education and secondary education.
 
During her tenure as president, SUNY Adirondack increased graduation rates by more than twelve percent, including increases in graduation rates of low-income students, students of color, and students with disabilities. Kris oversaw more than $50 million in capital investments to support teaching and learning, the relocation of the college’s Culinary Arts program to downtown Glens Falls, and the achievement of branch campus status for its center in Saratoga County in the town of Wilton. She spearheaded an increase in workforce-focused degrees and short-term training programs, and she secured millions of dollars in grant revenue to dramatically increase equipment, classroom needs, support services and programs to improve student success outcomes.
 
A hallmark of Kris’s tenure as president was relationship-building that elevated SUNY Adirondack’s presence in the community, region and state. She was awarded the Hudson Headwaters Health Network Community Champion in 2016. She is a founding member of the Partnership for Community Belonging, a group of business, government, non-profit and faith leaders in the greater Glens Falls region who seek to make the community welcoming to all. She served as president of New York Community College Association of Presidents and chaired the EDC Warren County board. Kris currently chairs the Upstate Insurance Agency board and is a director of Arrow Bank, the SUNY Adirondack Foundation, and the Adirondack Welcome Circle. She has also served on the boards of the Saratoga Economic Development Corporation, Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce, YMCA of Greater Glens Falls, Rural Community College Alliance, and Leadership Greater Syracuse.
 
Kris holds a Doctor of Education in Executive Leadership from St. John Fisher University, a Master of Science in Guidance and Counseling from Russell Sage College and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from SUNY Brockport. She and her husband John reside in Queensbury. They have two adult sons, Jack and Sean.