2 Deans Appointed, Fulfilling

SUNY Oneonta 5-Division Plan

ONEONTA – SUNY Oneonta will begin the academic year with two new founding deans, Jan Bowers and Joao Sedycias, completing a reorganization into five academic divisions begun last fall.

Also appointed is Terrence Mitchell as the college’s first chief diversity officer.

Classes begin Monday for the 2014-15 academic year.

Dr. Bowers joined the college June 2 as the founding dean of the School of Education and Human Ecology. Bowers came to SUNY Oneonta from Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Wash., where she was a professor within the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences. She earned a Ph.D. from Kansas State University, where her major field of study was adult and occupational education administration.

Dr. Sedycias joined the college Aug. 1 as the founding dean of the School of Arts and Humanities. Sedycias came to SUNY Oneonta from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, where he was a professor of Spanish and chair of the Department of Foreign Languages & Literature at SIUE, overseeing a program offering instruction in 12 languages. He earned a Ph.D. in comparative literature at the University of Buffalo.

Last fall, the college established five schools as part of a restructuring of its division of Academic Affairs and welcomed founding deans for the School of Economics and Business, the School of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, and the School of Social Science. Interim deans were appointed for the remaining two schools while searches were conducted.

In addition to the new deans, Terrence Mitchell joined the college July 1 as chief diversity officer. Prior to his arrival at SUNY Oneonta, Mitchell was executive director of the CREED College Readiness Program in Meadville, Pa., a nonprofit organization he founded in 2010. CREED offers education consulting to students and their families in Pennsylvania, New York, Oklahoma and Texas.

Before establishing CREED, Mitchell spent 13 years at Allegheny College in Meadville in various roles, including director of the Office of Diversity Affairs, associate dean of students and assistant to the president for institutional diversity.

He holds a master’s from the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Okla., and is pursuing a doctoral degree at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.