September 19, 2024
Dear Community Members,
As you may have seen, today the Board of Trustees announced that Dr. Frederick Bonato has been named the University’s Interim President, effective October 15.
As the Board of Trustees began its search for an interim President, we sought an interim leader who has a demonstrated track record of driving growth and has the depth of experience to be able to jump into the role and immediately make a difference for our students, our faculty, and our staff. Providentially, the perfect candidate was just across the Hudson River at Montclair State. The Board was very familiar with Dr. Bonato as he was a finalist in our most recent presidential search.
Dr. Bonato is an extremely impressive educator and administrator with a successful three-decade career. He knows higher education well and Catholic higher education particularly well. The Trustees are confident that he can and will hit the ground running and continue Manhattan University’s strong Catholic Lasallian commitment to its educational mission to all those entrusted to its care.
He spent 17 years as a psychology professor at Saint Peter’s University, where he chaired the department and built a reputation for brokering collaborative relations between faculty and administration during his time as the President of the Faculty Senate as well as his tenure as the University’s Director of Faculty Research and Sponsored Programs, where he facilitated the grant process for his peers. Through his research, he became a widely respected expert on motion sickness and aerospace medicine.
When he returned to Saint Peter’s a few years later as Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs and eventually Executive Vice President & Provost, the University nearly doubled graduate student enrollment, international student enrollment went up nearly tenfold, achieved the highest six-year graduation rates in University history, and hit a 25-year high in overall enrollment.
These are only a fraction of his accomplishments, but they show that we have brought in a leader who is ready to immerse himself in our community and drive positive change.
Equally as important is who Dr. Bonato is as a person. He is hardworking but humble – someone who seeks to achieve success alongside others. The Board was struck by his unbridled passion for educating and empowering students, which we’re confident you’ll see from your first interactions with him.
We know that Dr. Bonato is excited to get started, and the Board looks forward to working closely with him on advancing our mission.
Sincerely, Stephen Squeri ’81, ’86 MBA
Chairman of the Board of Trustees