About the President

Robert S. Prezant, PhD, joined Farmingdale State College as its 10th president on August 14, 2024. Prior to his appointment, he was provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Southern Connecticut State University.   

As provost, he has led strategic planning, served on New England Commission of Higher Education accreditation visitation committees, led a university-wide branding effort, serves as principal investigator on a $3.2 million NSF Alliance for Minority Participation grant, created the Southern Fellows-in-Residence program to help diversify the faculty, helped grow external funding, and has led on revamping the honors college. 

A prolific scholar and accomplished administrator, President Prezant has been the lead or co-lead in generating over $20 million in external funding to support research and academic programs. His administrative efforts have resulted in the creation and support of several centers and institutes, new degree programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, corporate partnerships to support student success, development and enhancement of online and on-ground continuing education programs, and several global affiliations.  

His previous roles included serving as dean of the College of Science and Mathematics at Montclair State University, dean of the Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at CUNY’s Queens College, and chair of the Biology Department at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.  

President Prezant’s research has focused on environmental modification of shell microstructure, benthic biodiversity, molluscan reproductive ecology, impact of microplastics on filter feeding mollusks, and bivalve dispersal mechanisms.  He has over 50 articles in peer-reviewed journals. Many of his publications are co-authored by students. He has taught courses in ecosystems and environmental concerns, marine biology, marine ecology, invertebrate zoology, malacology, electron microscopy, and oceanography.  

He was President of the American Malacological Society and served on the NJ Sea Grant Board of Directors, NJ R&D Council, Board of Trustees of Hackensack University Medical Center Mountainside, the Liberty Science Center Learning and Teaching Committee, as a Governor-appointed member of the Passaic River Flood Commission, and on the Board of the SCSU Center of Excellence on Autism Disorders. He is a named University Professor at Indiana University of Pennsylvania where he also received the Outstanding Research Award. For his work in founding the biennial PharmFest program, he received a recognition award from the Health Care Institute of New Jersey (HINJ).   

President Prezant founded and served as editor-in-chief of the international peer-reviewed journal, The American Malacological Bulletin, and served as editor of Perspectives in Malacology and The Second International Corbicula Symposium. He has recently served as president of the East River Watershed Research Institute.   

He holds a PhD in marine biology from the University of Delaware, an MS in biology (marine science) from Northeastern University, and a BA in biology from Adelphi University.