Lois B. DeFleur
Encyclopedia
Lois B. DeFleur was president of Binghamton University
from 1990 to 2010. She came to the university after being provost
at the University of Missouri
. Before that she had served as a sociology
professor
at Missouri State University
and Washington State University
. She has a doctorate
in sociology from the University of Illinois
. She studied juvenile delinquency in Latin America and has done extensive work in the fields of deviant behavior and occupational socialization.
DeFleur became the president at Binghamton University
in 1990, making her the longest serving president of the university to date. She retired at the end of July 2010 http://b-line.binghamton.edu/news.cgi?id=257.
Binghamton University
Binghamton University, also formally called State University of New York at Binghamton, , is a public research university in the State of New York. The University is one of the four university centers in the State University of New York system...
from 1990 to 2010. She came to the university after being provost
Provost (education)
A provost is the senior academic administrator at many institutions of higher education in the United States, Canada and Australia, the equivalent of a pro-vice-chancellor at some institutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland....
at the University of Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
. Before that she had served as a sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
at Missouri State University
Missouri State University
Missouri State University is a public university located in Springfield, Missouri, United States and founded in 1905. It is the state's second largest university, with an official enrollment of 20,802 in fall 2011...
and Washington State University
Washington State University
Washington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...
. She has a doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in sociology from the University of Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
. She studied juvenile delinquency in Latin America and has done extensive work in the fields of deviant behavior and occupational socialization.
DeFleur became the president at Binghamton University
Binghamton University
Binghamton University, also formally called State University of New York at Binghamton, , is a public research university in the State of New York. The University is one of the four university centers in the State University of New York system...
in 1990, making her the longest serving president of the university to date. She retired at the end of July 2010 http://b-line.binghamton.edu/news.cgi?id=257.
DeFleur at Binghamton
A few of the events occurring under her administration:- Began an aggressive fundraising campaign, more than doubling giving for multiple consecutive years.
- Moved athletics to Division I from Division III, changing the school's mascot from the Colonial to the Bearcat.
- Binghamton's publications rankings increased (although some have declined drastically in recent years, such as overall ranking in the Princeton Review).
- Reorganized schools at Binghamton: the College of Community and Public Affairs and the School of Education were created July 1, 2006, from the former School of Education and Human Development.
- Funded construction of over more than a dozen new buildings, including a new residence community, university union addition, events center, academic complex and the new Downtown University Center.
- The University’s endowment has risen from approximately $8 million to $64.5 million.
- Faculty research awards have increased 60 percent.
- Binghamton completed its first-ever comprehensive gifts campaign more than a year early, and at 121 percent of its goal.
- Binghamton was designated a New York State Center of Excellence in 2006.
Retirement
Citing her upcoming marriage and the fragile health of her mother, DeFleur announced on January 13, 2010 that she will retire from her position as president of Binghamton University at the end of the Spring 2010 semester. A successor is to be appointed by the Binghamton University Council. http://www.binghamton.edu/calendar/b-line/news.cgi?id=257Criticisms
- Although the state ethics commission has never accused DeFleur of wrongdoing, some question the propriety of DeFleur sitting on boards of companies that do millions of dollars in business with the university that she oversees. For years, she was on the board of Energy East, in which she had held more than half a million dollars in stock. She is also a paid adviser to M&T Bank, a financial institution that has long had sole rights to operate on the Binghamton campus.
- While DeFleur was holding the Energy East stock (worth more than $500,000 when she sold it in 2007), the campus purchased Energy East's office building for $6.1 million across from the campus—a transaction dismissed as a sweetheart deal by local real estate experts and state officials. This deal—DeFleur says she recused herself, but her aides kept her informed on the no-bid deal—was at first rejected by the Public Service Commission, the state comptroller's office and the state attorney general. Although it was eventually approved, an assistant attorney general, Henry DeCotis, still objected to the entire transaction, arguing the school will have paid more than $140,000 too much. In addition, he said, the deal allowed Energy East to keep office and parking spaces.