This article was updated at 3:41 p.m. on 10/18.

University President Harvey Stenger, at Friday morning’s Binghamton University Council meeting, announced that this year will be the last in his post. He has asked SUNY Chancellor John King to begin the search for a new president and will serve in the role until the search is completed.

“This was a difficult decision because I know how much I will miss working with Binghamton University’s wonderful students, faculty, staff, community members and alumni,” Stenger said during the meeting. “But after 13 years as president, I am looking forward to spending more time with Cathy and our family as we discover and pursue new opportunities.”

Stenger was appointed the University’s seventh president in November 2011 following a 17-month search. During his tenure, he introduced the Road Map to Premier initiative, which has engaged 400 campus stakeholders. Under his leadership, BU established the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, which saw its first graduating class in 2021.

Stenger has overseen the University’s expansion during his years in office, over $600 million in construction and renovations that include Downtown Binghamton’s Koffman Southern Tier Incubator, the Health Sciences complex in Johnson City and the Baseball Complex.

“President Harvey Stenger is a huge part of Binghamton’s success story and its emergence as a world-class university,” King said. “His leadership has helped bring the research dollars that have turned the campus and the region into an engine of innovation and raised the profile of the university — massively increasing applications and growing academics, student life, and resources for student success. We applaud his leadership and his great care of and for the Binghamton University community and appreciate the time we still have with him to continue pushing this work forward.”

Before his appointment, Stenger earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Cornell University and a doctorate in the same from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was a professor at Lehigh University, where he served as a dean for six years, as a co-chair of the department of chemical engineering and as director of the Environmental Studies Center.

He later held the interim provost position at the University at Buffalo, where he also served as dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Student enrollment at BU increased by 28 percent during Stenger’s tenure, including 44 percent graduate enrollment growth, and the amount of full-time faculty has increased by 53 percent.

BU was ranked No. 4 in best-value public universities in the United States and No. 1 for best-value public universities in New York in the recently published 2025 U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges list.

“Binghamton University is a wonderful place with tremendous potential, and I am proud of what we all have been able to accomplish together,” Stenger wrote in a B-Line. “I will certainly miss seeing everyone on a regular basis. As I begin to close this chapter in my career, I promise that over the next year, I will continue to work tirelessly to address issues at hand and to ensure a seamless leadership transition.”