AMHERST, N.Y. – New York State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia, a Daemen College graduate, will discuss current issues in higher education with representatives from colleges and universities from the Buffalo Niagara region and statewide as part of an Oct. 22 visit to Daemen.

Elia’s discussion for the college’s Distinguished Leaders Lecture Series will take place at 11:15 a.m. in the Wick Campus Center Alumni Lounge.

Attendees will include Daemen President Gary A. Olson, Dr. Michael Brogan, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college, and other administrators. They will be joined by presidents and top academic officers from NYS private and public institutions, as well as Laura L. Anglin, president of the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities.

“We are very proud and pleased to host Commissioner Elia at Daemen and look forward to welcoming her back to our campus community,” said Olson. “Her visit offers us the opportunity to bring together educational leaders from across the state for a meaningful conversation on vital higher education issues.”

Elia serves as education commissioner and president of the University of the State of New York (USNY), which comprises the state’s pre-k through 12 education system with 7,000 public and independent elementary and secondary schools serving more than 3 million students; 270 public, independent and proprietary colleges and universities; 7,000 libraries; and 900 museums. 

A native of Western New York, Elia has 45 years of experience as an educator. Most recently, she was superintendent in Hillsborough County, Florida, which includes Tampa, the nation’s eighth largest school district.

After graduating from high school in Lewiston, Elia went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in history from Daemen and master’s degrees from the University at Buffalo and SUNY Buffalo State.

Elia was a social studies teacher at Sweet Home High School for 16 years and then moved to Florida, where she was a reading teacher and later held administrative roles in the Hillsborough County School District.