Business Administration

A background in business administration provides students with an understanding of how for-profit and not-for-profit organizations function effectively and efficiently.

Students gain a comprehensive understanding of the entire organization and a clear picture of how the following functional business areas work together to make a successful organization: accounting, finance, human resources, law, management, marketing, information technology and operations.

Students in the program acquire a portfolio of business skills that they master and sharpen through the curriculum. In addition to gaining a fundamental knowledge of business concepts and nomenclature, students develop skills that are valued by employers.

Brad Sweet '19 discusses the benefits of SUNY Potsdam's Department of Business Administration and the impact his professors have had on his undergraduate education.

Home Sweet Home

For Hannah Richardson ’24 entrepreneurship has always run in the family. Now a senior in the business administration program, she’s looking ahead to a career at her parents’ company, H. Richardson & Sons and HRS Forestry. After she receives her degree, she will not only be managing the books for her parents’ company, but also pursuing her MBA this fall.

Coast to Coast

What started as a friendly relationship online, led to a love connection spanning from coast to coast for Cameo Torres ’23. After moving to Potsdam so she could be closer to Malcolm Wheaton ’19 & ’20 she decided to pursue a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Over the past four years she continued to develop entrepreneurship skills with the goal of one day launching her own company. In the meantime, she’s gaining valuable real-world experience as a marketing specialist for SeaComm Federal Credit Union in Massena.

Forging a Unique Path

As her classmates headed home for the summer, Olivia Krytus ’26 packed her bags for Fort Jackson, South Carolina, for an intensive 10-week boot camp with the Army National Guard. This fall she will be back on campus to continue juggling her studies in business administration and psychology with service in the Army National Guard.

An Agent for Change

SUNY Potsdam Professor Dr. Seon Levius knows that business technology has no meaning without the human element. Drawing from core principles of his Business Process Analysis course, Levius is bringing a broad perspective in ICT, policy and human resources to help a Caribbean disaster management agency operate effectively in the digital age.

United for Ukraine

Dr. Gregory A. Gardner has been many things to many people throughout his varied career: Military intelligence officer. Visiting professor. Business expert. Colleague. Friend. No matter his role, he has always focused his efforts on advancing democracy and promoting free commerce—first with the U.S. Air Force, and later as a SUNY Potsdam faculty member and Fulbright Scholar.

Path of the Professional

After landing her dream job as the executive director for the St. Regis Tribal Gaming Commission in Akwesasne, Jill Benedict ’01 & ’24 was still looking for ways to challenge herself. Twenty years after receiving her undergraduate degree from SUNY Potsdam, she has returned to her alma mater to pursue a graduate degree in management—allowing her to parlay her educational experiences into transferrable leadership skills for the Mohawk government.

Seeds of Change

In an ever-changing world, SUNY Potsdam is at the forefront of adapting with the times, and developing relevant academic offerings for students. During the Spring 2021 semester, Dr. Christa Haifley offered a Cannabusiness class for the first time—one of three new courses that will form the backbone of a Cannabis Studies minor currently being developed at the College.

Leader Among his Peers

As a resident assistant in Bowman Hall, and a peer counselor in the Center for Applied Learning, Jason Perregaux ’21 has continued to embrace leadership roles throughout his time at SUNY Potsdam. While helping other students, he’s also been on his own path of discovery—balancing his business classes with vocal performances at Crane, and weaving in his faith through his involvement with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

Home in the North Country

For more than two decades, SUNY Potsdam Professor Tony Betrus ’93 & ’94 has continued to have a positive impact on his students, promoted a passion for learning, and emphasized the importance of technology. His dedication to education runs in the family. His wife Kristen (Schneider) Betrus ’95, mother Barbara '91, and brothers Ryan '95 & '02 and Jon Betrus '97 & '01 all received their degrees from SUNY Potsdam and transitioned to careers as teachers—proving that there’s something special when you set foot on the campus.

Rising Out of Darkness

As a wounded service member returning from Iraq, alumnus James Wilkes ’01, ’06 & ’10 re-entered civilian life with a battery of injuries, including significant memory loss. For the past 15 years, he has been continuing to climb out of that darkness left behind in war. After receiving degrees in biology, business administration, and instructional technology and media from SUNY Potsdam, he went on to an impressive career at IBM. In his spare time, he tackles the most daunting endurance races on the planet—including recently completing the Quintuple Anvil Triathlon, with 703 miles of biking, running and swimming.

After Potsdam: The Pathway Up

Amanda Moeller ’15 has leveraged a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from SUNY Potsdam to gain a master’s degree and a sought-after position with a multinational company. A member of several honors societies while at SUNY Potsdam, she is now the customer supply chain manager at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, where we caught up with her to chat about her undergraduate experiences.

Note to Self. Succeed.

imagine receiving a reminder from your younger self to keep pursuing your goals. That's what happened to SUNY Potsdam alumnus Nick Leonard the other day when a notification appeared on his iPhone: “Have job on Broadway in ticketing, pricing or revenue –From 21-year-old Nick.” He had set the reminder three years earlier, as part of an exercise in Dr. Ed Portugal's class. And as it turns out, Nick can already check that big item off his career to-do list after accepted a new job with the Walt Disney Company.

Creating a Culture of Curiosity

Dr. Edwin Portugal, who has been a professor at SUNY Potsdam since 1993, is known for fostering curiosity and creative thinking in his business administration classes and bringing a global perspective to his research and teaching.