An emphasis behind the creation of new opportunities for students, faculty and administrators stands as a core reason for three new promotions at St. Francis College this summer. Dr. Allen Burdowski is now the new Dean of Academic Program Development, Richie Coladarci now serves as Assistant Vice President for Human Resources and Organizational Development and John Ragno is the College’s new Assistant Vice President for Finance.

“Allen, Richie and John have already made significant contributions to St. Francis,” said Executive Vice President June McGrisken. “The combination of their enhanced roles will make St. Francis run more efficiently, and allow us to focus on our mission of affording students and faculty access to exciting new educational programs. All employees will also be able to benefit from the latest in training tools and technologies.”

Dr. Allen Burdowski has served the College as Department Chairman in both the Biology and Information Technology departments, as Director of the Faculty Center for Technology and Curriculum Development, and, for the past five years, as Associate Dean for Graduate and Professional Programs. He helped launch the College’s two graduate programs in Accounting, the Graduate Certificate in Project Management and is working to add future programs in Psychology and other areas. In his new role, Dean Burdowski will continue to lead the College’s efforts to develop new undergraduate, graduate and continuing education programs. This includes working with faculty to develop the vision, philosophy and rationale for new programs, as well as ensuring that existing programs remain relevant and rigorous. Dr. Burdowski is the former Chair of the Biology and Information Technology Departments and still teaches Biology at the College. He has earned worldwide media attention for his research with fellow St. Francis Professor Steven Lipson showing the effectiveness of cranberry and grape juice in combating stomach viruses. Dean Burdowski received his B.A. from Hunter College in the Bronx, and his Ph.D. in Biology from New York University.

Richie Coladarci will continue to provide day-to-day leadership to the Office of Human Resources. His expanded position also includes responsibility for identifying and addressing organizational needs aligned to the College’s strategic goals and initiatives. This includes facilitating professional development and continuous learning among employees, working across departments to ensure successful training and adaptation of available tools and resources, and coordinating emergency preparedness and threat assessment efforts for the campus. Assistant Vice President Coladarci recently helped implement the Clear Passages tobacco free campus program at St. Francis College. He has been the Director of Human Resources at St. Francis since December 2007. He is a certified Senior Professional of Human Resources (SPHR), has a Master’s Degree in Human Resource Development from The George Washington University and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Eastern Region of the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR).

John Ragno’s role as the Assistant Vice President for Finance, includes new responsibilities within the Finance Department, such as: implementing a new e-procurement system that will create an automated work flow process, saving time and enhancing cost control; streamlining the budget reporting process by providing budget officers access to real time reporting; and ensuring tax and accounting compliance with the increased regulation in higher education. Assistant Vice President Ragno has been the Controller at St. Francis College since February 2006. He has more than twenty years of accounting and finance experience having previously worked in leadership roles as Director of Revenue Integrity and as Assistant Controller at NYU Hospitals Center, and Executive Director of Accounting and Financial Reporting at Polytechnic Institute of New York University. Ragno has a BBA degree in Accounting from Florida Atlantic University and an MBA in Corporate Finance from Dowling College.

St. Francis College, founded in 1859 by the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn, is located in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y. Since its founding, the College has pursued its Franciscan mission to provide an affordable, high-quality education to students from New York City’s five boroughs and beyond.

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St. Francis College, 180 Remsen Street, Brooklyn Heights, NY 11201
www.sfc.edu