Dennis Hefner

After graduating in 1967, Dennis Hefner attended Washington State University where he earned his Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Economics. His first position covered two years as an Economist/Social Science Research Analyst in Washington, D.C. for the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare studying various aspects of Medicare and Medicaid, which at that time had been in existence for only four years. He then returned to CSU, Chico, serving as a faculty member and department chair in the Economics Departments, plus three administrative positions: Dean of Undergraduate Studies, Dean of the College of Agriculture and Human Environmental Sciences, and Vice Provost for the university. During his Chico time, he published two dozen journal articles, received funding for more than 50 external grants, taught part-time at the University of California at San Francisco, and took a one-year leave of absence to be the Director of Research for PAID Prescriptions, Inc.

He then served four years as the Vice President for Academic Affairs at CSU, San Bernardino; had a six month stint as the Transition Team Leader for the soon-to-be opened CSU, Monterey Bay campus; and was appointed the founding Senior Vice Chancellor for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, which was formed by the merger of three different Minnesota higher education systems.

Beginning in 1996, he was named the President of the State University of New York at Fredonia--a position he held for 16 years. After retirement, he worked part-time for the SUNY system training new University Presidents and researching system-wide policy issues. Recently, he was asked to serve a 13 month stint as Interim President for SUNY Potsdam.