Dr. Donald P. Astrab, 5th President

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release Media Contact Only: Alicia Steger 516.572.9634 E-mail: alicia.steger@ncc.edu    

Dr. Donald P. Astrab, 5th President of Nassau Community College  

Garden City, N.Y. – Nassau Community College is proud to announce that Dr. Donald P. Astrab has assumed duties as the fifth president of the college. “I am extremely proud and honored in being selected to join this truly great institution,” said Dr. Astrab. “I will strive not only to carry on but to enhance its exemplary tradition and reputation.”

Mary Adams, Chair of the NCC Board of Trustees, is excited about working with Dr. Astrab. “Nassau Community College is fortunate to have as president someone with Dr. Astrab’s background,” she said. “His wealth of experience will enable us to continue on as one of the premiere community colleges in the nation, even in this increasingly challenged time.”

“Dr. Astrab comes to us with two decades of experience in the community college sector as a teacher, administrator and leader,” said SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher. “After interviewing him for the position, it was evident that Donald Astrab was the ideal candidate to lead the Nassau campus as it experiences record enrollment and interest from the local, state and international communities. I commend both the college Board and the SUNY trustees for this appointment.”

Dr. Astrab – who earned both a Ph.D. in synthetic organic chemistry and an MPH in environmental-occupational health management at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and a BA in chemistry and biology at SUNY Oswego – brings over 25 years of experience in higher education and industry to Nassau, both at the community college and university levels. His focus has been on strategic planning, campus development, budget management, leadership development, distance learning and instructional technology. Most recently, he was Vice President for Academic Affairs and Chief Learning Officer at Brevard Community College (BCC) in Florida, an institution with four campuses and over 30,000 students. In this position, Dr. Astrab’s oversight responsibilities included all academic, technical, workforce and health sciences programs. He also initiated faculty professional development opportunities by establishing BCC as a regional Professional Development Center, created the Office of Student Diversity and Equity and helped design a unique academic structure that allows for a truly learner-centered, responsive organization built around student engagement, student empowerment and core values.

Prior to his position as Vice President, Dr. Astrab worked as a professor of Chemical Instrumentation, chair of the Palm Bay campus Science and Technology Department, and College-wide Dean of Technical Education. Among the many initiatives he undertook at BCC during these years were the transformation of the college’s curriculum design program through the use of the Worldwide Instructional Design System (WIDS); articulation agreements and dual enrollments between BCC and the Florida State University System and other Brevard public and private schools; and the establishment of an academic technology department to support teaching and learning by early implementation of technology, enabling the school to reach dramatically larger numbers of students while reducing costs and increasing productivity and profitability.

Before going to BCC, Dr. Astrab worked as a Water Quality Control Coordinator for the city and county of Honolulu, a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Hawaii, and laboratory manager at Aecos Environmental Services in Honolulu.

Dr. Astrab looks forward to sharing his vision for Nassau Community College and Long Island with the campus community as well as the community at large. “I look forward to working with everyone. Together we can build our community to foster justice, compassion and productivity with a vision for the future.”

 

Ref: 1412.9/30/09/e-mail only

About Nassau Community College

Nassau Community College, a division of the State University of New York, is an institution where nearly 23,000 full- and part-time students and almost 15,000 continuing and professional students start and continue their successful journey through higher education. More than 65 fields of study are offered on a 225-acre campus located in the center of Long Island. As the largest single-campus two-year college in New York State, Nassau Community College maintains a national reputation for excellence. For more information, visit www.ncc.edu.