Former IBM vice president Susan Puglia elected chair of RIT’s Board of Trustees

Susan Puglia has been named the 22nd chairperson of Rochester Institute of Technology’s Board of Trustees and, as she takes the helm, will be overseeing two major university initiatives. Puglia, who received the gavel from her predecessor Jeffrey Harris ’75 during the Board of Trustees meeting on Oct 18, is also chairperson of the RIT Presidential Search Committee and will help guide the university into the next iteration of its Strategic Plan.

Puglia, who served previously as vice chair of the board, is a retired vice president of Global Product Management at IBM, with 35 years of experience in the information technology industry. Throughout her career, she held executive management positions in engineering, systems and software development, portfolio management, corporate quality, technical sales, and business transformation. Her strengths include managing large global organizations, and collaborating with and influencing change in complex business processes. 

Additionally, she served on the IBM CEO’s Senior Leadership Team and the Technical Leadership Team, and she established and led several IBM global programs to attract, develop, and advance women in technical career paths. She was also instrumental in creating partnerships between RIT and IBM, most recently advocating for and supporting RIT’s Cybersecurity Lab. 

She graduated from New York University, earning a bachelor’s degree in computer science and mathematics and an MBA in international business and finance. She is a member of the New York Hall of Science President’s Council and serves as a mentor for the Campus Bound Scholars program for first-generation college students and the Women Unlimited LEAD program for professional women.

She lives in Yorktown Heights, N.Y.

The RIT board has 40 active trustees and 27 trustees of emeritus status.

Gavel, designed by RIT alumnus, made from reclaimed wood of campus oak tree

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Carlos Ortiz

The new gavel and strike plate used by RIT’s Board of Trustees was handcrafted by alumnus Joseph Allgeier ’20 (MFA), a visiting lecturer in industrial design. It was made using reclaimed wood from an historic oak tree on campus that was destroyed by a wind storm in 2017. Other projects were created by industrial design students using the reclaimed wood, including 10 seats located in Fountain Park near Global Village, marking the 50th anniversary of the Henrietta campus; a children’s reading and play area at the Henrietta Public Library that features an abstract tree in artist Wendell Castle’s style; and RIT-branded souvenir coasters made of wood and glass given to honored members of the university community.