SUNY names Dr. Mary C. Toale Officer-in-Charge at SUNY Oswego

Toale will serve as officer-in-charge until a permanent president is appointed.

OSWEGO, N.Y. – The State University of New York (SUNY) has appointed Dr. Mary C. Toale officer-in-charge at SUNY Oswego, effective Jan. 1, 2022. Dr. Toale will provide continuing leadership to the college upon the retirement of long-serving President Deborah F. Stanley, who was recently appointed interim chancellor of the State University of New York. Toale will serve as officer-in-charge at SUNY Oswego while the college searches for a permanent president.

Toale has been deeply involved in and advanced all high-level initiatives of the President's Office. She recently partnered with President Stanley and Dr. Rodmon King, the college’s Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, to create the Institute for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Transformative Practice. Having served in several leadership roles, Toale has built close relationships with faculty, administrators and staff, while remaining focused on mentoring and supporting Oswego’s undergraduate and graduate students.

“I have been extremely fortunate to work closely with President Stanley, the dedicated members of our President’s Council, administrators, faculty, staff and students across our campus,” said Toale. “As a first-generation Pell grant recipient, I love SUNY Oswego’s mission and learner-centered focus. I am looking forward to the continued partnerships as the SUNY Oswego community searches for our next president.”

President Deborah F. Stanley said, “Mary has continuously stepped in to lead areas of the college when needed and is the ideal officer-in-charge candidate. She brings a wealth of higher education leadership, knowledge and experience, and is committed to student success, equity and opportunity. I am confident she will do a fantastic job leading the college during this time of transition.”

SUNY Oswego’s Presidential Search Committee, led by College Council Chair James McMahon, has already begun a national search for a permanent president for the campus and is working with SUNY and Academic Search to actively network and recruit prospective candidates. For more information on the SUNY Oswego Presidential search, visit the Presidential Search website, https://bit.ly/oswego-presidential-search.

“We look forward to Mary stepping in to lead the SUNY Oswego community,” said SUNY Oswego College Council Chair James McMahon. “She will bring the necessary knowledge of our campus and track record of collaboration to this transition, as we move forward with our national search for a permanent president to succeed President Deborah F. Stanley.”

About Dr. Mary C. Toale

Dr. Mary C. Toale joined SUNY Oswego in 2014 to create and launch the strategic communication graduate program. Her commitment to teaching and learning began early and led to her undergraduate degree in secondary mathematics education at West Virginia Wesleyan College (WVWC). Her interest in pursuing graduate degrees led to her master’s degree in communication theory and research and doctoral degree in instructional communication at West Virginia University. Toale has been in higher education for more than 25 years, having spent the past 20 years as a faculty member at SUNY Oswego, WVWC and Baldwin Wallace University, where she also served in leadership roles.

Toale has served SUNY Oswego in a number of leadership roles since her arrival in 2014, most recently as Deputy to the President, Affirmative Action Officer and Campus Safety Monitor. She also serves as the liaison to the SUNY Employee Relations and General Counsel’s Offices. She previously served as co-officer-in-charge for Enrollment Management, acting vice president for Student Affairs, interim dean of Graduate Studies, chair of the Department of Communication Studies and a faculty fellow in the President’s Office. She is also a SUNY SAIL Institute Fellow working closely with the SAIL team to develop and launch departmental chair development programming.

Toale has published scholarly work as well as presented numerous scholarly and pedagogical topics at state, regional and national conferences; served on editorial review boards for state, regional and national peer-reviewed scholarly journals; and served as a communication consultant for local news outlets and working professionals. She also served as one of 30 faculty on the National Communication Association’s Lumina Grant project to create learning outcomes in communication and served as a member of the National Faculty Advisory Board for Lambda Pi Eta.

In 2016, the Eastern Communication Association (ECA) named Toale a Distinguished Teaching Fellow in recognition of her excellence in teaching and in 2017 ECA named her a recipient of the Distinguished Service Award for her service to the field of communication. In 2007, Toale received the Baldwin Wallace University Strosacker Award for Excellence in Teaching.