SUNY New Paltz announced on Monday that Dr. Gerald Benjamin, associate vice president for regional engagement and director of the Benjamin Center for Public Policy Initiatives at SUNY New Paltz, has announced his intention to enter a phased retirement after a 50-plus year career at the College. His retirement will take effect on June 30, 2020.
Effective February 14, Benjamin will step down as director of the Benjamin Center. During spring 2020 he will support the Center’s transition to new leadership, complete several center projects and teach a course in state government. In retirement, Benjamin will be affiliated with the Center as a researcher and be available to teach courses periodically.
“Dr. Gerald Benjamin is the foremost scholar and expert on local and state government in New York and is held in high esteem by his faculty and administrative colleagues, state and local government officials, other scholars and thousands of students who have taken his courses,” said President Donald P. Christian. “He has contributed greatly to the campus community, the region and the state during his longstanding career at SUNY New Paltz.”
Dr. KT Tobin, associate director of the Benjamin Center, will succeed Benjamin to become the Center’s director. Tobin is currently responsible for designing, managing and producing center projects focused on regional issues and concerns. She is a 1992 graduate of the College and holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology, a master’s degree in social research from CUNY Hunter and a Ph.D. in sociology from SUNY Albany.
Benjamin joined the New Paltz faculty as an assistant professor of political science in 1968 and was appointed to his current role in 2008. Additionally at SUNY New Paltz, Benjamin has overseen the work of the Institute for Disaster Mental Health (IDMH) and The Legislative Gazette.
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