Board of Trustees

About the Board

The College is governed by a ten-member Board of Trustees. Five are appointed by the County Executive for seven-year terms, four are appointed by the Governor, also for seven-year terms, and one is a student representative elected by the Onondaga Community College Student Association to a one-year term.

The responsibilities of the Board of Trustees are defined in New York Education Law, Community College Regulations, Part 604: Administration of the College, Section 604.2: Responsibilities and duties of the college trustees.

Board Members

John P. Sindoni, Esq. - Chair

Appointed in 2013 by New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. Mr. Sindoni is Partner in the law firm of Barclay Damon and lives in Cicero.

Melanie Littlejohn - Vice Chair

Appointed in 2010 by Onondaga County Executive Joanne Mahoney. She is President & CEO of the Central New York Community Foundation. She resides in Syracuse.

Donna J. DeSiato, Ed.D. '69

Appointed in 2010 by New York State Governor David Patterson. Dr. DeSiato is Superintendent of the East Syracuse Minoa Central School District. She resides in Syracuse.

Mark Tryniski ’81

Appointed in 2016 by New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo. He is the retired President & CEO of Community Bank System, Inc. He resides in Baldwinsville.

Jaime Alicea

Appointed in 2018 by Onondaga County Executive Joanne Mahoney. Mr. Alicea is the retired Superintendent of the Syracuse City School District. He is a resident of Syracuse.

William Gilberti, Esq. '72

Appointed in 2022 by Onondaga County Executive J. Ryan McMahon, II. He is an attorney who represents clients before federal and state courts and state administrative agencies. He resides in Skaneateles.

Paul Mello, CPA

Appointed in 2020 by Onondaga County Executive J. Ryan McMahon, II. He is President and CEO of Solvay Bank. He resides in Syracuse.

Haley Madej - Student Trustee

Member of Student Government, Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, and is a Humanities & Social Sciences major who will complete her degree in May 2024.

Board Meeting Schedule

Board meetings are held between the months of September and June. All meetings are open to the public and are held in room 210 of the Whitney Applied Technology Center. Future meeting dates are:

  • June 25, 2024
Dates, times, and locations are subject to change. Contact Julie Hart, Secretary to the Board of Trustees, at  hartj@sunyocc.edu or 315-498-2214 for more information.

Trustee Emeritus

The following Board Members were designated Trustee Emeritus for their service to OCC.
Trustee Dates Served Date Awarded
Helen B. Q. Anderson 1976-1999 January 19, 1999
Rev. Dr. Alexander Carmichael 1961-1987 October 13, 1987
David Murphy 1998-2010 September 28, 2010
Connie Monteleone Whitton 1996-2012 June 19, 2012
Donald Mawhinney, Jr. 1961-2016 June 21, 2016
Dr. Gary Livent 1998-2016 November 15, 2016
Edward Heinrich 2008-2017 June 20 2017
Allen Naples 2010-2019 May 17, 2019