When Peter Magrath last served as president, Binghamton University had an enrollment of nearly 10,000 students.

Now, nearly 40 years later, Magrath will return as interim president as the university of more than 14,000 makes the transition to its next full-time president.

Magrath was nominated by SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher, and began his presidency on July 1 after appointment by the SUNY Board of Trustees.

During his one-year term as interim president, Magrath plans to work on the fundraising campaign that is underway and meet with faculty, students, local council and senior officers to learn what needs to be addressed at BU.

‘I think my challenge is a positive one, it’s to make sure that I can get a lot of help from a lot of people and mobilize the many good staff, alumni and students who care about the University to keep the momentum going,’ Magrath said.

‘We are so pleased with the return of Peter Magrath to the SUNY family,’ Zimpher said in a press statement. ‘Dr. Magrath is an ideal fit to lead this superb academic institution during a period of transition and growth.’

Magrath, who was formerly the president of BU from 1972 to 1974, was most recently interim president at West Virginia University between 2008 and 2009, and since 2006, he has held the position of senior presidential adviser at The College Board. He has also worked at the University of Minnesota, the University of Missouri System and the University of West Virginia.

According to Magrath, outgoing BU President Lois DeFleur has ‘done a heck of a job,’ and BU has a larger and more positive visibility since she took over back in 1990.

‘My impression of BU is that it is a very good and positively regarded place,’ he said. ‘Whatever the media and public perception are may be all over the map, but I know that this is a good university.’

Magrath plans to make himself accessible to students over the course of the school year, and said that he is eager to meet and listen to the Student Association.

He will be working alongside Jean-Pierre Mileur, past dean of Harpur College of Arts and Sciences, whom Zimpher appointed to succeed Mary Ann Swain as interim provost.

Swain announced that she will return to teaching in spring 2011 after a semester off.

THE PRESIDENTIAL SEARCH

The search for the new president of BU is still underway, and the search committee, led by the BU Council chairwoman Kathryn Madigan, is working with the search firm of Isaacson, Miller.

Sub-groups of the committee held open forums for faculty and students in May, and are now finalizing a vision statement, analyzing where BU has been, and where it will be in the future, Madigan said.

‘We are putting together the qualities we want in a new president ‘ and will start publishing notices for the position,’ she added. ‘In July, August and September we really hope to be able to start identifying top candidates.’

Among the list of qualities the committee is looking for in the next president are a ‘powerful affinity for missions and visions of BU,’ and ‘someone who can build a strong management team and exercise ambitious plans’ with a fiscal mindset, Madigan said.

Once these documents are approved by the full search committee they will be posted on their website, www2.binghamton.edu/presidential-search.