Oswego Mayor Billy Barlow announced the appointment of Dr. Rodmon King (pictured), SUNY Oswego’s chief diversity and inclusion officer, as chair of the Campus-City Relations Committee. The CCRC, established in 2006, seeks to connect the SUNY Oswego campus community with that of the greater City of Oswego community.

The focus of the membership is to assist the greater community with neighborhood quality of life issues, off-campus housing, public awareness campaigns, and city-campus events and programs to better include and connect the SUNY Oswego community to the greater Oswego community.

“I am pleased to appoint Rodmon King as chairperson of the Campus-City Relations Committee and am confident he will do an outstanding job leading the Committee and continuing the good work the committee has performed in partnership with my administration,” said Barlow. “Rodmon has the strong collaboration and team-building skills needed to lead the committee as we continue to work together in search for greater understanding and move forward as partners in our quest for One City. One Campus. One Community.

Mayor Barlow added, “Moving forward we also will look for opportunities to better include SUNY Oswego students in our community particularly as we make significant improvements to our downtown to better attract people of all ages. SUNY Oswego President Deborah Stanley and the entire SUNY community are excellent community partners and I look forward to using the Campus-City Relations Committee, under Rodmon’s leadership, to continue moving in a positive direction."

"SUNY Oswego remains committed to working closely with Mayor Barlow and the City of Oswego to improve the quality of life for our combined residents," said SUNY Oswego President Deborah F. Stanley. “Rodmon’s extensive experience working as an advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education, and collaboration with stakeholders across the academy and in the wider community have prepared him to lead this valuable community-minded committee forward.”

Prior to joining the leadership team at SUNY Oswego, King served as the associate vice president for Academic Affairs and Diversity Initiatives at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. He taught as a member of the faculty at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York, where he spent the better part of a decade teaching as a full-time instructor and assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy. King previously served as an adjunct instructor at Roberts Wesleyan College and the University of Rochester. In addition to his service on the CCRC, King is a member of the Oswego Rotary Club, where he joins others in planning and carrying out a variety of humanitarian, educational, and cultural exchange programs that impact lives locally and around the world.

King received his doctorate and master’s degrees in philosophy from the University of Rochester and a bachelor of art degree in religion and philosophy from Roberts Wesleyan College.

"I'm grateful to have this opportunity and look forward to continuing this committee's work of connecting our students, faculty, staff and administration to the Oswego community," said King on his recent appointment as chair of the CCRC. “The work of the CCRC make it increasingly clear that we all benefit significantly when our energies blend to create a more inclusive and vibrant living and working environment.”

- Story originally released by the City of Oswego