President's Biography

Dr. Erik J. Bitterbaum became the 10th president of State University of New York College at Cortland on July 14, 2003, after having served as president of West Virginia University at Parkersburg (WVUP) since 2000.

He concurrently served as a regional vice president for West Virginia University at Morgantown with responsibilities for the educational and economic development of western West Virginia.

As the WVUP president, Bitterbaum secured a $2 million gift in the university's first capital campaign, instituted a new admission program resulting in an applications increase, increased student retention, improved distance learning, created a Council of Grants to bring external dollars to campus, and created a Center for Teaching Innovation to assist faculty and K-12 educators improve the learning environment for elementary, secondary and university students.

Bitterbaum was involved with numerous grants at WVUP, including the $125,000 Claude W. Benedum Foundation grant to implement a Professional Development School between Wood County Schools and the WVUP Department of Education.

A Queens, N.Y., native, he attended Kalani High School in Honolulu, Hawaii, and graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Biology from Occidental College in Los Angeles, Calif. He spent his junior year abroad at Sussex University in Falmer, England. He earned a M.A. in Biology from Occidental and a Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Florida, where he was an instructor in the Department of Zoology.

From 1981-90, Bitterbaum was an assistant and associate professor in the Department of Biology at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, Neb. He concurrently became assistant provost for lifelong learning at NWU from 1983-87 and associate provost from 1987-90. He served on the President's Cabinet there for seven years.

In 1990, Bitterbaum accepted the position of vice president for academic affairs at Methodist College in Fayetteville, N.C., where he also held the rank of professor in the Department of Biology.

He joined Missouri Southern State College in Joplin in 1994 as vice president for academic affairs and a fully tenured professor of biology. As the chief academic officer for its 5,800 students, Bitterbaum oversaw Missouri Southern's 215 full-time and 65 part time faculty.