Graham posthumously appointed as SUNY Potsdam president

ALBANY, New York (WWNY) - The late Dr. John Graham was posthumously named SUNY Potsdam president.

The symbolic move made at the SUNY Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday in Albany, where it was said that while Dr. Graham served most of his career in senior administrative positions, he always wanted to become a college president.

Dr. Graham was serving as interim president at SUNY Potsdam after Dr. Kristen Esterberg left over the summer.

Graham passed away unexpectedly last month.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Beth Berlin, SUNY’s chief operating officer who has been in charge of SUNY Potsdam since Dr. Graham’s passing, shared some information with the trustees.

“After Dr. Graham’s passing, I met with the leadership team at SUNY Potsdam and I was inspired after all that they shared about Dr. Graham. From one person to the next, it was shared that Dr. Graham, in the 3 months that he was there, did more for that community, had taken action and steps that some said should have been taken years ago,” she said.

After the resolution passed honoring Dr. Graham as SUNY Potsdam’s president, the board of trustees gave a standing ovation to the late leader.

A new interim president of SUNY Potsdam has yet to be named.

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