Reflections: President Casamento looks back on tenure

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Reflections: President Casamento looks back on tenure

President Laura Casamento stands by a glass window, with her reflection showing in the glass next to her.

President Casamento looks back on her very eventful tenure at the helm of Utica University

My first position at Utica was Vice President for Institutional Advancement, which I held for about five years before I was asked to be a Senior Vice President and then Executive Vice President, when I took on the responsibilities of two other divisions - Financial Affairs and Enrollment Management. That put me in a sort-of Chief Operating Officer role, where I learned a lot. I had already learned quite a bit of how the institution operated from being on the President’s Cabinet, but these roles really allowed me the opportunity to see what was under the hood, so to speak - how this place really functioned. It was an enormous learning opportunity for m

I was convinced that I would never be a college president, mostly because I never thought that I wanted to be one. That started to change, though, when I went back to get my doctorate degree. I thought that with my background in higher education and finance, a doctorate would really tie things together in terms of what I wanted to do from that point forward. At the time I had no idea when former President Todd Hutton was going to retire, but as it turned out, he chose to step down one year into my doctoral program. So I thought, “If not me, then who will step in?”

I had no interest in pursuing a college presidency in Albany or Rochester or Alabama or California. But this is my hometown. I understood the importance of this place, and I decided that I was going to compete for the job because I knew I could do some good. If they told me I didn’t get it, then perhaps I’d get to work with a really great president and continue the good work I was already doing here. Either way, I really didn’t see any downside.

I’m glad that I took the initiative and made the case for why I should be president. I looked forward to the national search and the opportunity to compete against other strong candidates for the position. I wanted people to know that I was selected because I was the best candidate.

When I talk to my peers around the country and they learn I’m the president of the university in my hometown, they’re in a bit of disbelief as that’s not something a lot of people can say. My decision to pursue the presidency at Utica was driven by a sense of personal investment. I didn’t feel anyone else was going to be able to come in and understand from day one what we mean to the Mohawk Valley region, nor share my passion for the region. No one, I felt, would be nearly as invested as I am in the success of the institution, of the city of Utica, and of the greater Mohawk Valley and its people. Others might come here, serve as president, then leave the area. For me, this is where I make my home and when I’m done, my home is still here. So it truly matters to me, just as it matters to my children, my grandchildren, my extended family, and everyone here that I’ve grown up with. That’s why I did it.

Cool Under Pressure

There were certainly challenges early on. My first winter as president was when the (Hutton Sports and Recreation Center) dome collapsed. That was also when the governor at the time announced the Excelsior Scholarship –essentially a program for free four-year public college education. Then we had the terror lockdown of 2018, and not so long after that we were hit with COVID-19.

I remember I was in Florida at an alumni event when I got the call that the dome had collapsed in Blizzard Stella. I was just stunned. My first question was if anyone was inside and if anyone had been hurt. Once I knew everyone was safe, we could move forward. Money is money and buildings can be fixed, but the safety and well-being of our students, faculty, and staff was far and away the most important thing. It was a moment when the enormity and the gravity of my responsibility for this community as president really hit me.

I reached out to members of the Board and to members of the community because let’s face it – everything I know about the engineering of an air-supported structure you can put into a thimble. So I knew I needed help. Fortunately, we have this incredible Construction Management Advisory Group and such knowledgeable businesspeople who came together to say, “How are we going to solve this problem?” It was the same thing, but on a different level, after the terror threat. The way this community came together for each other and the level of caring that people showed for one another was inspiring. That’s what got me through the terror lockdown, the dome collapse, and so many other things.

Through events like these you’re making decisions as the president, and sometimes people are not happy with those decisions and other times they are. You’re never going to make everyone happy, but through it all, people really rose to the occasion.

(Former Provost and Incoming President) Todd Pfannestiel talks about how important it is to be cool under pressure when you’re in a role like the presidency. Following the terror lockdown, I had to get in front of the cameras with thousands of people in the street at the end of that day. Stephanie Nesbitt, who was a leader on the emergency management group at the time, said to me as I was walking out to the cameras, “Laura, the way you present yourself right at this moment – that’s the level of faith people are going to have the in the University. You have to go out there, and you have to own this moment.” After that horrible day we had, the responses to questions may have been brief, but we let people know just what we’re doing. Stephanie was so right, and I’ve followed her advice all the way through. Moments like these define how people see the University. As president, it’s on you and how you react.

Could we have gotten through the pandemic if we didn’t come together as a community? If people didn’t feel safe here? For that, I’ve got to give all the credit in the world to my leadership team and our faculty for setting up the systems and testing that we did. We changed the entire way we operate so that we could remain open. We were determined to make certain that our students got the education they came here to receive. Everyone here made sacrifices and worked hard to make that happen.

All For The Students

I have a box full of cards and letters that I received from people all over this community saying how, during the pandemic, they actually felt safer here than at home or other places. Aside from being enormously rewarding to read, those messages represent the deep connection the presidency at Utica University has with our students. Before I was president, I interacted with students, but as president your relationship with the students is on an entirely different level.

I’ve loved inviting students into my office and having my open office hours. Some students are just thrilled with the chance to sit on the couch and tell me what’s happening in their lives. When they need it, I try to figure out how I can help. Of course, there are also students who feel too intimidated to walk into the big office, and I get it, which is why I also held open office hours in the residence halls. I know that’s something that Todd talks about continuing – going to where the students are, being there for their big events and the things they want to do, having them just see your face and know that you’re interested in their lives. Even when you’re getting back to a student to say that, despite your best efforts, things just didn’t work out, I’ve never seen them not appreciate the effort.

I’m looking forward to whatever comes next for Utica University, forever in my heart.

I remember times when there was a water issue in the residence halls, or some of the laundry facilities weren’t working. How would I have known that if not for a student telling me how inconvenient it was? Of course it was inconvenient – it’s their home. In some of those cases like that, you can just get it done. There are other times it may be more complicated, but I’ve found that regardless of the circumstances, students love that they’re being heard. They love that you’ve put thought into something and that they get a response, whether it’s a yes or no. They don’t always need to get what they’re asking for, but they want to be heard and they want to be respected.

Hands down, those relationships are the best part of the job. When you’re driving home at night after a 12-hour day, though you may feel totally exhausted, you know this is why we do what we do.

The Right Time

I didn’t have a timeline for this when I started. I thought maybe I could do it for 10 years, but now it’s been seven and I think personal circumstances, family illness, and running the university through the time of the pandemic – it’s taken a toll. So the decision feels right and at the right time.

A lot has been accomplished these past seven years and there’s plenty to be proud of. For me, one of the biggest is the success of the tuition reset in terms of lowering student debt at graduation by between 25 and 30 percent. The worst thing in the world is to have someone come to school here and have to leave with a bunch of debt and no degree. That is a gut-wrenching situation, so being able to help with college affordability is absolutely number one for me.

Number two is being the president that got to announce that we are now a university. A lot of work went into that under my predecessor, but I can already tell the difference that it’s going to make in terms of our sustainability, because it has opened up so many doors on the international front. We haven’t had this kind of interest in a long time, and I know that the university name has much to do with that.

There’s plenty to be proud of, for sure, but also much that I’ll miss.

I’ll miss the ability to change a student’s life. I don’t mean their entire life, but at a moment in time. I remember a student once coming in to see me in December some years ago, a fantastic student very close to graduating that had a strikingly difficult financial circumstance happen in their life and wasn’t going to be able to stay. We were able to make it so they could stay and finish, and the reaction of that student will never leave me. That’s what it’s all about, making that difference. I’ll miss that part very much.

With newfound time on my hands, I’m looking forward to spending more of it with my family – my husband, children, and grandchildren. I’m also very excited about spending some time on myself. It’s been a long time, not just here, but in my prior work since I’ve been able to make myself personally a priority, and I’m looking forward to that, just as I’m looking forward to whatever comes next for Utica University, forever in my heart.