Building Purchase’s Future: An Interview with New President Michael Steiper

By: Nolan Locke and Summer Tyler

Michael Steiper has over 20 years of experience working in higher education within the City University of New York (CUNY) system. He has a doctorate in anthropology from Harvard University and most recently served as the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at the College of Staten Island. Before this, Steiper served for 20 years as professor of anthropology at Hunter College, as well as working as the inaugural director of Hunter's Human Biology Program, which has become the college's second-largest major. Now he is bringing all of that experience here to Purchase. 

On July 28, Steiper was named the seventh president of Purchase College by the State University of New York (SUNY) Board of Trustees. 

President Steiper sitting at his desk (Photo by Nolan Locke)

First, we'd like to ask you to tell us a little about yourself. 

I am a born-and-raised New Yorker, from Queens and Long Island, and have been in Pelham, now in Westchester, for the last 12 years. My career in higher education began at Hunter College, part of CUNY, after graduate school. I started as a professor and assistant professor, teaching courses, running a lab, and conducting research. But I progressively got more and more involved in academic leadership and work on student success, and working at a more institutional level. And that led me to the College of Staten Island as provost, and I did quite a bit of work there. Especially in student success, working to build back enrollment and to really bring back campus life post-pandemic. And from there, I was just thrilled to see this opportunity here at Purchase. Because it is such a phenomenal place with so much going on that's so positive, and also, there is still so much potential. And I'm just so excited to work with the entire campus to meet that potential.

We have seen you getting involved around campus. And in one of the posts, you brought your dog to campus. We'd love to know a bit more about them.

Nova is my 5-year-old golden retriever. She's a pandemic puppy, and we were really delighted to bring her home.  My kids really love having her around. She's really sweet. And she's certainly enjoyed coming to campus and meeting all the students. You'll definitely be seeing more of her on campus. 

President Steiper and Nova near The Great Lawn (Photo provided by Michael Steiper)

What are some of your short-term and long-term goals?

My short-term goals are to meet a lot of people and to really learn about Purchase. So that's everyone: students, faculty, staff, alumni and the board members. And really just get very familiar with everyone and what they really love about Purchase and what are the ways they would like to see it [Purchase] grow and change. Also, their aspirations: what do they want Purchase to be doing for them personally, professionally, and educationally? So right now I'm just speaking to as many people as possible, gathering their stories, and that is a huge priority.  In the midterm, some of this year's priorities for me relate to building the visibility of Purchase. So working with all these stakeholders, working with the campus, academics, but also, you know, the Neuberger, the PAC [Performing Arts Center], athletics. We have a really deep appreciation for all the things we do on campus, but also off campus. We want people to have a greater awareness of the fact that you can study with Grammy-winning faculty. The fact that our faculty have won Guggenheims and the fact that our faculty have been awarded major NSF [National Science Foundation] and New York State grants. I want to have this year be about celebrating those achievements and celebrating the awareness of those locally and beyond. And I also think that's with an eye towards a longer-term goal of ensuring the ongoing enrollment and budgetary sustainability and health of the campus. So we can keep doing all of those things we do really well, even better, and further into the future.

President Steiper holding his signed t-shirt gifted to him by the RA Staff (Photo by Nolan Locke)

How have your first few weeks here as president been?

They have been nothing short of truly amazing. This is a special place. Everyone is so energetic, enthusiastic, and so happy to meet me and to talk with me. I've gotten around to so many different events, and it's been really fun. It's been a really good match for my style, which is very much out there, and talking with people, it's just been so lovely. 

What do you think makes you a good fit for Purchase College?

My experience in public higher education throughout the CUNY system. My experience as an academic, as an anthropologist, I think that's very relevant. Since we have a big focus here both in the arts and the liberal arts and sciences, I have an appreciation for those programs and the kind of work that those faculty, students, and staff do. Enrollment and retention remain a priority. Budgetary health is a priority. I've met some of those challenges working with the teams that I've worked with at the College of Staten Island, so I think that's going to help me.

So, to follow up on the last question, what makes Purchase College a good fit for you?

This is an energetic, joyful, and enthusiastic place, and I feel like that's a good fit for me. Because I like to be that way too, so that's been fun. As I go around and get my coffee in the morning, or I go out for lunch, or just do a little walk down the arcades, and I do the Loop, everyone's saying hello. People are chatting with me and telling me about their majors, their stories, or where they're from, and I'm sharing right back. I met students who are my neighbors in New Rochelle, so that's been very enjoyable for me.

During your time as a research director at Hunter College, was there anything you learned that you believe you can apply to your work here at Purchase College?

My own research in anthropology ranges from the social sciences to the biological sciences. And so, I'm someone who has broad interests in human and primate evolution, and that actually connects quite deeply to the work that people are doing in many different departments here. The other day I spoke with a sculpture professor and we chatted about their work studying and using fossil plants as inspiration for their work. I've done field work and expeditions to find mammal fossils, so there's already a lot of connections I have already been able to make in not just anthropology, but also environmental science and other departments. Of course, I'm the president, but I'm still very much someone who thinks of himself as a professor, and I love talking about academic and artistic topics, so if students have an interest, that is something I'd love to chat about.

Speaking to that, what level of interaction and how available do you plan on making yourself to the student body?

So I've already mentioned some of the informal ways I have been interacting with students, but I'm also open to more formal meetings. For example, I've already met PSGA as a group as well as the president. I'm also open to meeting with student groups as well. 

President Steiper standing outside of his office (Photo Nolan Locke)

How do you plan to continue to increase enrollment and continue to fight funding issues here at Purchase College?

In the past, there have been substantial declines, but the last couple of years have been on an uptick. I am very interested in building on that momentum, and of course, accelerating it. So, what are some of the specific ideas that I have? Well, first is building the visibility of Purchase and all the things we do not just in the arts, but also across the arts and sciences, so generating more awareness within Westchester. Generating more awareness within, especially the local high schools, an underappreciated statistic is, I think, that three of the biggest cities in New York State by population are in Westchester. Westchester has close to a million people, so it's a huge market here, so the goal would be to increase Purchase’s visibility, and increase awareness of it as a destination, not solely for the arts and to work with high schools more intentionally, so there's awareness at all the high schools, but specifically the large high schools in the largest cities in Westchester. So they know that we are an option for high-quality, high-value public education, right here in their backyard. That would be a priority. Another thing that we can do that's very good for enrollment is ensuring that students succeed when they come here. So, in other words, when students come as freshmen, some students leave your campus, and that is called your retention rate. Campuses focus very heavily on ensuring the retention rate is high because you want all of your freshmen to do really well and have an outstanding experience and stay to become sophomores. And here we have some opportunity to do better in our retention, and that will also help our enrollment.

Do you plan to address some of the complaints that transfer students have about the transfer process and credit evaluation? 

Absolutely. So, if I would have shared a third strategy, it would have been transfer students, truly. This year, we exceeded our new transfer goal by a small amount. But I certainly have heard that the experience of transfer students leaves a little room for improvement. This year had nothing to do with me, as it was planned before we got here. But we've done more transfer orientation. I have spoken to students at these events and heard their stories. It will be a priority for me to ensure that we do everything we can to ensure that the transfer process is a bit more seamless and that students can come in, get their credits or their portfolios evaluated early, so they're not waiting till the very last minute, and maybe not getting the classes they need. Also, [that] we have the right mix of degrees. So when students are transferring, with 60 credits, an associate can feed into our curriculum a little more deeply.

Let's talk about May 2, 2024. As you know, the campus is still recovering from the encampment and the arrest of students and faculty. In cases where students have expressed themselves through activism, how do you view the role of administration in responding?

To be clear, I wasn't here last time, and it's hard to speak to the specifics of every case, because I think in these situations, every case will be different. But as president and as a SUNY campus, we're 100% committed to free expression on this campus and also content-neutral time, place, and manner restrictions at times on that. So the work that's most important to me is ensuring that both these things can happen at the same time. As well as that, we have an environment that's free from discrimination and harassment. All forms of anti-semitism, Islamophobia, racism, sexism, and anti-LBGTQIA+. The goal is that we can be free from bias, and that we can also have free expression, with some reasonable guidelines in place that we are mandated to uphold, and I stand behind. We can move forward productively, and people can express themselves and can also have their education without any form of discrimination or harassment. 

Do you potentially have plans to, in certain cases, meet with student activist leaders to make sure they can follow the guidelines to the best of their abilities? 

Members of my team have already been, and we've done more training this fall. So we've done more Title VI training, we've done training with incoming freshmen, and as people make requests for doing different forms of events, they will go through a checklist to make sure what the rules and restrictions are. That is the responsibility of Patricia Bice, Vice President of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management. This [the quick response (QR) code pictured below] leads you to the page that explains these things [rules and restrictions].

What ways do you plan on differing your treatment and interaction with student activism compared to last year?

It's about going forward and ensuring that we're keeping both awareness and communication of these events so there are as few misunderstandings as possible. So we can get out ahead of issues before they arise. That would be my priority as new president, as someone who is really gonna lean on communication and conversation early. So they understand exactly what is being said on this website and what the responsibilities are for all parties involved. 

Would you be open to sitting and speaking with some of the students and faculty who were arrested on May 2, 2024?

So I am generally open to speaking to anyone, students, faculty, staff, friends, and alumni, about all matters Purchase. So for me, yes, I am open to engaging with individuals again about all matters involving campus life here at Purchase. 

What can students expect from your presidency?

Great question. I would say some of the things that I shared earlier, but to bring them all together thematically, I really feel that Purchase is a truly special place. I really do feel that the programs we offer and the overall culture that we're cultivating here as a campus is so dynamic. So filled with vitality, energy, and enthusiasm. And I just want my presidency to be all about elevating that and supporting it. As well as having Purchase be the best campus it can possibly be. I am really thrilled to be a part of it [Purchase]. You know to think about the incredible legacy and the incredible history of this place. And to just imagine being part of working with students, faculty, and staff, and to think about the future that we can build together. I'm so excited to work with students like you who work so hard and are interested in the campus and making Purchase the best it can be.