DAN QUAGLIANA
News Editor
ROSEMARIE RAPISARDA
Staff Writer
On March 13, SUNY Fredonia’s Vice President for Finance and Administration Michael Kelly resigned from his position at the University.
“Today [March 13], I had a conversation about the future with Mr. Michael Kelly, [v]ice [p]resident for Finance and Administration, and I have accepted his resignation from SUNY Fredonia,” said an email sent out by Fredonia President Stephen Kolison to faculty and staff.
“His last day in the office will be on April 1, 2024. During his remaining time with SUNY Fredonia, Mr. Kelly will be focusing on the necessary transitions,” the email continued.
Kelly is no longer listed as a member of the president’s cabinet on Fredonia’s website.
According to Kelly, he is leaving the University to take a job as the assistant superintendent for finance and management services in the Williamsville Central School District. Williamsville is a village within the towns of Amherst and Cheektowaga, two suburbs of Buffalo, NY.
“This is a great opportunity and one I’m really looking forward to,” Kelly said. “Williamsville is a community I worked in previously and the school district is top-rated. The community is also a wonderful place and this opportunity really was too good to pass up.”
In the 2023 fiscal year, Kelly earned $134,092 at Fredonia, according to seethroughny.net. According to the same website, Kelly’s predecessor in the Williamsville position, Thomas Maturski, earned $196,390 in the same fiscal year.
“One of my graduate degrees allowed me to become certified as a NYS School District Business Leader and this opportunity to lead the business operations of one of the top school districts in [Western New York], also happened to be a dream come true,” Kelly explained. “I wish the timing would have been different and I could have spent more time with SUNY Fredonia, but this opportunity wasn’t likely to come around again during my working career, so I made the really difficult decision to step away from SUNY Fredonia with my career in mind.”
Kolison said, in another email to faculty and staff on April 5, “Having discussed the urgency of finding a new [v]ice [p]resident for the Division of Finance and Administration with the Senate Executive Committee, we are proceeding with a national search with the goal of filling the position sometime between October and December this year. We will work expeditiously to achieve this goal. I am working with members of the University Senate Executive [C]ommittee to propose and approve a search committee at the next meeting of the University Senate.”
This search committee was approved by the University Senate at the April 15 meeting. It consists of administrators, faculty, staff and a student.
“In the interim, I have asked Dr. David A. Starrett, [the] executive vice president and provost, to provide executive oversight for the subdivision of Finance, which includes Accounting, the Budget Office, Internal Control, Payroll Services, Student Accounts and University Services,” Kolison’s email continued. “While this is not the most ideal arrangement, let me note that the university will save about $90,000 as a result.”
Starrett did not provide a comment on Kelly’s resignation.
President Kolison could not be reached for comment.
Kelly started his vice president position “in February 2023. This position was a dream come true and all of my prior experiences made me ideally suited to step into this role,” he said. “I’m a proud 1998 [g]raduate of SUNY Fredonia.”
While Kelly served as vice president for Finance and Administration, he and his department “reduced and eliminated recurring annual expenses, developed a plan for securing SUNY Fredonia’s long-term financial stability, introduced online sales and marketing for the campus bookstore, hired a dynamic new [University Police c]hief [and] developed a plan to reorganize University Services, … amongst other accomplishments,” he said.
“I feel proud of the work we did while I served in this vital role,” Kelly noted. “The cabinet and employees work very hard to move the school forward and continue the outstanding standards and legacy of SUNY Fredonia. Given the budgetary situation, difficult decisions continue to be made with the future of this University in mind.”