Michele Halstead
Vice President for Administration & Finance
Vice President for Administration & Finance
Michele Halstead was appointed as the vice president for administration & finance at the State University of New York at New Paltz, effective Aug. 19, 2013.
As the University’s senior non-academic administrator and chief financial officer, Halstead is responsible for the institution’s financial viability and integrity, operating and capital budgets, revenues, expenditures, business activities and debt. She oversees Accounting Services, Budget, Campus Auxiliary Services, Design & Construction, Emergency Management, Environmental Health & Safety, Information Technology Services, Facilities Operations, Internal Control, Payroll, Procurement, Sustainability, Telecommunications and Travel.
A native of New Paltz, an alumna of SUNY New Paltz, and a resident of Stone Ridge, she has held positions of increasing responsibility within the University’s Division of Administration and Finance since 1990 and has been asked to provide transitional leadership on several occasions.
As Assistant Vice President for Administration & Finance from 2002-2012, she oversaw the following offices and functions: Accounts Payable, Revenue Accounting, Student Loan Counseling Center, Administrative Services, Mail Room, Receiving, Payroll, Property Control, Parking, Telecommunications and Athletic & Wellness Center Collections and Internal Control. During the transformation of the University’s student information systems from a home-grown legacy system to Banner during 2006-2007, she led the finance team and successfully transferred more than 150 accounts and 1.4 million transactions totaling $70 million.
From 1999 to 2002, she served as the Director of Accounting Services, and from 1990 to 1999, was Assistant Director of Accounting Services. Her interim leadership roles have included Interim Chief Financial Officer (2007-2008, 2012-2013), Interim Director of Accounting Services (2007), Interim Supervisor for the Office of Institutional Research (2006), and Acting Director of Student Accounts (1998).
Halstead is known on campus and in the community for her service efforts. She initiated and organizes the Annual Campus Cleanup Day. She has served on the Workplace with Heart Committee and the Employee Assistance Program Committee, the Banner Steering Committee, Campus Auxiliary Services Board, and the Intercollegiate Athletics Board. She is a certified radKIDS Instructor, providing personal empowerment and safety education for children. She co-chaired the Golf Scholarship Tournament Committee. She is Past President and Treasurer for the New Paltz Adult Athletic League, served as Audit Committee chair for the Friendship Bowling League, and a volunteer fundraiser for major charitable organizations, including the American Heart Association, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
In addition to her campus duties, Halstead has led the SUNY-wide Accounting/Budget/Bursar Committee and served as president of the State University Business Officer’s Association (SUBOA) from 2019-2021.
In 2010, she received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service.
Halstead earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics in 1986 from the University at Albany and a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting in 1991 from SUNY New Paltz.
