Matthew Shaftel

Dr. Matthew Shaftel is the 11th president of Russell Sage College, where he is leading a transformative merger with the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, launching the college toward university status. In his first year, he initiated the Sage Forward strategic plan, secured the most successful fundraising year in institutional history, and oversaw a dramatic increase in student retention. Under his leadership, Sage also launched several new academic programs, expanded national visibility, and began preparing for a comprehensive campaign.

Prior to joining Russell Sage, Shaftel served as dean at Ohio University, where he led a $94 million campus transformation and secured a $25 million naming gift—one of the largest in the institution’s history. He previously held the role of associate vice president at Florida State University, where he helped design a signature general education program and contributed to the university’s rise in national rankings. Earlier in his career, he served as dean and executive of the Princeton campus at Rider University.

A Yale-trained music theorist, Shaftel holds a B.A., M.Phil., and Ph.D. from Yale University. He is both an award-winning scholar—recognized for national publications with Oxford University Press and University of Illinois Press—and an award-winning teacher, having received three university-wide teaching honors.