Joseph Skrivanek

Joseph (Joe) Skrivanek has devoted much of his career as a professor of chemistry at Purchase to broadening the STEM pipeline. He most recently received the rank of 2018 Distinguished Service Professor by SUNY. He is founder and director of the Baccalaureate and Beyond Community College Mentoring Program, which has been recognized for dramatically increasing the graduation rates of community college transfer students—particularly those pursuing STEM degrees—and has been replicated across the SUNY system under Skrivanek’s direction. The program was started in 2000 with an initial grant from the National Institutes of Health Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program. In 2011, Purchase College received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring for the Baccalaureate and Beyond program. Professor Skrivanek accepted the award on behalf of the college at a White House ceremony with President Obama on January 27, 2011.

Skrivanek‘s other endeavors include partnering with community organizations to bring STEM awareness and opportunities to minority K-12 students and developing science curricula and programs tailored specifically to the needs of community college and high school students. He has successfully advocated for more than $4 million in funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and other organizations to support programs for underrepresented students.

Skrivanek received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry from the University of Scranton and his PhD in biochemistry from Pennsylvania State University. After postdoctoral work at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, he joined the faculty at Purchase College in 1979. In addition to being a member of the chemistry faculty, he has held numerous positions at the college, including head of the chemistry and biochemistry programs, dean of natural sciences, and chair of two Middle States Steering Committees.