Purchase College welcomed three new cabinet members just ahead of the 2022–2023 academic year.
Earnest Lamb
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
A cellist and active chamber musician, Earnest Lamb, PhD comes from Minnesota State University Moorhead, where he served as the Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities. In roles prior, he chaired departments at Fayetteville State University and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, and performed as a member of the Fayetteville, Memphis, and Arkansas Symphony orchestras. He shares his interest in leadership in the arts widely.
“I hope to bring my leadership experience on non-profit boards, grantsmanship, and as a creative collaborator across disciplines to engage the campus in new and innovative opportunities for future growth,” says Lamb.
Lamb wrote and produced two programs for public radio: Blacks in Classical Music and From Spiritual to Symphony: A Portrait of Florence Smith Price. The latter won numerous awards, including first-place honors in the portrait division from the prestigious Foundation for Women in Radio and Television.
Lamb holds a PhD in Musicology from the University of North Texas, with a specialization in American music, an MM in cello performance from Indiana University, and a BM in Cello Performance from the University of Memphis.
Lisa Miles-Boyce
Chief Diversity Officer and Title IX and Affirmative Action
Lisa Miles-Boyce, JD was the inaugural Affirmative Action Officer and Title IX Coordinator for Pace University, where she held various roles over her 23-year career there. She also served as Interim Chief Diversity Officer of York College in Queens.
Miles-Boyce says the Purchase motto definitely caught her attention.
“As a DEI professional, it feels like both an invitation and a challenge,” she says. “I look forward to stretching and being stretched by the work I will be privileged to do here and the community of scholars and creative thinkers who are drawn to Purchase College.”
Her credentials include certification as a civil rights investigator from Cornell University’s ILR program and training as a mediator certified by the Peace Institute. Beyond academia, Miles-Boyce has provided consultation and DEI training for both nonprofits and religious organizations. An ordained minister in the United Methodist Church, she serves as Vice Chair of the Board for the West Side Campaign Against Hunger.
Miles-Boyce holds a JD from New York Law School, an MDiv from Union Theological Seminary, and a BA from Herbert H. Lehman College.
Amanda Walker
Vice President for Institutional Advancement and Executive Director, Purchase College Foundation and Charitable Entities
Amanda Walker, PhD joins Purchase after serving The Evergreen State College, where she was Vice President for Advancement and Executive Director of Evergreen’s Foundation. During her 10 years there, foundation net assets tripled, the endowment value quadrupled, and the college’s first comprehensive campaign raised $25 million in two years.
Before Evergreen, she led fundraising at arts organizations in the north of England, including Sage Gateshead, a landmark center for music learning and performance, and the Georgian Theatre Royal.
The first in her immediate family to earn a college degree, Walker credits the scholarships received at her small liberal arts college, not unlike Purchase, for her success.
“The experience I had studying in the humanities and the performing arts as an undergraduate with dynamic, dedicated faculty unlocked a world of possibility for me: living abroad, further study at the graduate level, and a rewarding career in which I’ve sought to enable opportunities for others so that they may realize their own potential, just as I did through education and creative expression,” she says.
Walker holds a BA in English and Theatre with honors from Whitman College, an MA with distinction in Medieval Studies from the University of York, and a PhD in Education from University College London. She attended the Harvard University Graduate School of Education Institute for Educational Management and is a certified fundraising executive (CFRE).
