The Daily Bulletin

Michael F. LeVine, vice president for finance and management, has informed me that he plans to retire in summer 2018 after 40 years of dedicated leadership and exceptional service to the State of New York. Mr. LeVine began his career as an auditor in the Office of the New York State Comptroller, where he worked for six years. He then spent 28 years at the University at Buffalo in roles of progressive responsibility, from internal auditor to assistant vice president for financial services to associate vice president and controller. Mr. LeVine joined the Buffalo State family in August 2012, and for the past five-plus years has served as vice president for finance and management, providing outstanding leadership and guidance in the areas of finance and budget, capital projects, internal operations, public safety, and human resource management. His Buffalo State career is marked by many significant accomplishments.

He oversaw the design and implementation of a new campus system in 2014 to facilitate all-funds financial reporting and to provide the required infrastructure for an all-funds budget model. Mr. LeVine also enhanced the broad-based fee student consultation process and improved ongoing communications with the College Senate’s Budget and Staff Allocations Committee.

Mr. LeVine completed a multiyear negotiation process that led to acquiring the necessary land for the Jacqueline Vito LoRusso Alumni and Visitor Center and established private housing options to help address the college’s student housing needs. He led the completion of a comprehensive update to our Facilities Master Plan, and expanded the plan to include a Student Housing Master Plan. He was instrumental in Buffalo State’s participation in the START-UP NY program, which is now successfully in place.

We have also seen automation and improvement in several internal processes during Vice President LeVine’s tenure. These include SUNY’s electronic timesheet system for all faculty members and professional and classified staff, which rolled out in 2014–2015, and the automation of the entire procurement process and the employee change form process, anticipated to be completed by fall 2018. Under his leadership, the Administrative Policy Library was designed and implemented to locate all nonacademic and non-student policies into one fully searchable online database.

A significant reorganization was also completed for our Campus Services and Facilities Planning units to address operational and succession planning concerns, and to provide new leadership opportunities for some of Finance and Management’s highest performers. And the consolidation of the pre-award, post-award, and CDHS administrative operations into one unit to support research and training activities on campus and to address compliance issues was also a significant accomplishment that will serve the institution well for the future.

In addition to his work at Buffalo State, Mr. LeVine has held various leadership positions in the State University of New York Business Officers Association (SUBOA). He is a leader among his colleagues, and his advice and guidance is frequently sought from SUNY peers.

Mr. LeVine has agreed to assist the college with identifying the next vice president for finance and management by serving as chair of the search committee. We are fortunate to benefit from his expertise during the search process. I will announce more details regarding the search soon.

We will officially celebrate Vice President LeVine and express our gratitude for his many contributions and service at an event later this semester. For now, I invite you all to join me in thanking him for his exceptional service and commitment to Buffalo State College and wishing him all the best in this next phase of his life.