Western Connecticut State University

Western Connecticut State University changes lives by providing all students with a high-quality education that fosters their growth as individuals, scholars, professionals, and leaders in a global society. Before assuming the presidency of Western Connecticut State University, Dr. John B. Clark was the Acting University Executive Director of the City University of New York’s (CUNY) Office of Business and Industry Relations. Before joining CUNY, he was a visiting professor at Stony Brook University. Prior to that position, he was Interim Chancellor of the State University of New York (SUNY). During the course of his career at SUNY, Clark was the interim president of four of its colleges; Plattsburgh, Brockport, Alfred State and Optometry. He also served as Interim Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management and University Life at SUNY System Administration. Before joining SUNY, he worked as a Wall Street analyst and investment banker specializing in health and higher education for 18 years. He was named to the Institutional Investor’s All-American Research Team (honorable mention). Clark also held various positions in New York City and state government and is a Vietnam-era veteran who served with the 8th Infantry Division in Bad Kreuznach, West Germany. Clark was co-editor of and contributor to “SUNY at Sixty: The Promise of the State University of New York”and author of a book review of Christopher Newfield’s “Unmaking the Public University” for the prestigious British journal “Nature.” He has delivered the annual Cardinal Newman lecture at the National University of Ireland (Maynooth) and spoke on Anglo-American comparative higher education at Wolfson College, Cambridge University.