On August 1, 2021, Hofstra University welcomed change as Susan Poser assumed office as the ninth president and first female president in school history. While excited to take over as the head of the university, Poser wasn’t sure what to expect when arriving at Hofstra.
“Hofstra’s leadership was so stable and continuous for 20 years, so in some levels, my coming here was a big change for me and a big change for Hofstra,” Poser said. “It’s been interesting to watch that and to help people come to terms with change, which nobody likes, but I think everyone was ready for.”
While change isn’t easy, Poser quickly found a home within the Hofstra community after previously spending time at several larger universities. Poser previously served as the provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Illinois Chicago from 2016-2021 and also held multiple positions over her 20 years at the University of Nebraska, including Dean of the College of Law from 2010-2016.
“There is a much greater sense of community here [at Hofstra] because it is smaller. I found wonderful communities at Nebraska and Illinois, but they were communities within a larger community. This feels like one community and it was something that I really wanted and was looking forward to,” Poser said. “I’ve gotten to know some students and see people over again, and so it is easier to build those relationships here and feels like it is on a broader level because there is just fewer people.”
Coming from big athletic universities like Nebraska, Poser got to experience the athletic community at Hofstra in ways she hasn’t been able to at previous schools.
“I think that athletics at Hofstra is like the quintessential collegiate experience,” Poser said. “We’re big enough to be Division I. There’s real competition here, and we have some outstanding coaches, so it has been really fun to attend games and watch the incredible success starting with the soccer teams, which was just amazing, and to see that as a way to building spirit on the campus for everybody, not just the athletes.”
Hofstra athletics will also be facing some new competition with the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) as several new teams, including Stony Brook University, are joining the conference during the summer. Poser sees this as a way to help build national recognition for Hofstra athletics.
“I think it’s a great thing. It sort of formalizes what is already, as I understand it, a big competition with Stony Brook. Of course we do play them out of the division so I think that is great to have a great formalized rivalry on Long Island,” Poser said. “[The CAA] is expanding and bringing in some schools farther south and farther out on Long Island, and I think it is very exciting and can only help us on national recognition.
Although it has only been a year into her time with Hofstra, Poser has already faced several
challenges starting with the ongoing pandemic. While the decision was made for students to be vaccinated by the start of the fall semester, it was up to Poser and her staff to make the decision on mandating vaccines for employees.
“The first thing that I pretty much had to do when I got here in August was decide about whether we were going to require vaccines for employees,” Poser said. “I felt pretty strongly that we needed to do that, and there were differences in opinion on that, so that was a tough decision I had to make from the beginning. We lost some students because they didn’t want to be vaccinated, and I knew we would lose some staff.”
Poser had to make another COVID-19 decision several months later, resulting in the university mandating the booster vaccine for the spring semester.
“Once that decision was made, I found that the campus was very compliant. The students were wonderful in wearing their masks, and we had very little problem with that, which I don’t think was true everywhere else,” Poser said. “Now it was a huge job for [human resources] to make sure that everyone had gotten their vaccine and also for student affairs, so a lot of people worked very hard to ensure that everyone was complying.”
Balancing the pandemic with the changing federal and state mandates and restrictions was another challenge Poser faced while managing Hofstra’s own restrictions.
“We decided very early on that our North Star was just going to be public health and science and we just stuck to that. That is why we required the vaccine for employees. That is why we required the boosters. We had a lot of help for Northwell, particularly Dr. Bruce Farber, who is in charge of public health and epidemiology at Northwell,” Poser said. “I spoke to him often, and he very kindly joined meetings that I had with the senior leadership, and that was how we decided everything. Even the decision to take masks off, that was after extensive consultation with him and the rest of the leadership.”
Poser’s first year also saw a global crisis when Russia invaded Ukraine. Poser immediately wanted to offer help to those students affected by the crisis and continues to offer the community support.
“It was absolutely critical [to help], and we decided that we were going to help them before we figured out exactly how we were going to help them. We told them that they did not have to worry about the summer or the fall and that we would help get them through this crisis, and we’ve managed to put together, now, the support that we need to do that,” Poser said. “This is a horrible thing that is going on there. And these students are personally affected and have family in Ukraine, and there is nowhere really safe in Ukraine right now.”
Although her first year as president is ending, Poser is eager to bring new initiatives to the university starting in the upcoming fall semester. One change that Poser is looking to implement is the restructuring of wages for student workers, which has been a concern for many students.
“The wage issue – we are going to have a proposal ready to go by the start of school. I really want to engage the student government in this to make sure that we all are on the same page in this,” Poser said. “There are choices to be made. If we raise the wage all the way up to 15 [dollars per hour] for everybody and then beyond that for some students doing more specialized work, we probably can only give fewer students jobs on campus. There is balancing that has to be done and I think the students should be involved in thinking some of that through.”
While Poser is eager to start these plans next semester, she is first counting down the days before sending off the current class at graduation. Although Poser got a taste of commencement during the winter, this will be her first full commencement as president of Hofstra.
“This is why we are here. This is the greatest day of the whole year and there is nothing I love more than shaking students hand up there on sta
ge,” Poser said. “I did it as a dean for my law students when I was at Nebraska [and] I’ve done it as provost so it is just very exciting to do that, to see the different ceremonies and how they work, and we have some fantastic speakers coming.”
Speakers for this year include New York City mayor Eric Adams for the law school commencement and Dr. Bruce Farber from Northwell for the graduate commencement, along with others. While students may be nervous for all of the festivities and to walk across the stage, Poser is excited to be part of all of it.
“I think it is going to be a great few days. And there’s all these other activities around it, these smaller affinity-based graduations, and I’ll be at everything,” Poser said. “It is such a happy time. I am also a parent and been to two college graduations myself as a parent, and you know what it means for the parents, so I am excited to see them, too.”
Although the seniors are going to be leaving the university to start their careers, Poser still wants them to know that Hofstra will still be here for them.
“We are always going to be here for you. We are your school, your alma mater, and we want to continue to help you and see you come back to mentor the current students and help us think about the future of the university,” Poser said. “You are leaving physically, but you are not leaving the community.”
For those returning in the fall, Poser is excited for their return and is eager to start implementing new goals at Hofstra.
“To the students coming back, I would say that I cannot wait to see you in the fall. We are just in a big period of growth and change,” Poser said. “We are here because of the students, so we need them here to continue to let us know what they need and how we can help.”
With the first year as president nearing complete, Poser has stepped in and led Hofstra through a year with new and ongoing challenges nationally and globally. While the university is eager to continue to bring new initiatives under Poser, she wants to make sure that everyone knows how thankful she is of the welcome she’s received in her first year at Hofstra.
“I would say to all of the students that I have received a very warm welcome, and I have really enjoyed getting to know them,” Poser said. “I have just a big thank you.”
Photo Courtesy of Alexis Friedman/The Hofstra Chronicle
