Dobmeier Replaces Zemsky as Chair of Buffalo State College Council
Governor Andrew Cuomo has appointed Linda A. Dobmeier, ’71, as chair of the Buffalo State College Council. Dobmeier succeeds Howard Zemsky, who stepped aside from his roles with the College Council earlier this year after he was nominated by Cuomo to serve as president and CEO of Empire State Development.
Allen F. “Pete” Grum, president and chief executive officer at Rand Capital Corporation, has been added to the College Council by Cuomo to fill the vacancy left by Zemsky. Grum’s term will expire on June 30, 2015. In addition, Charles Naughton, ’85, was reappointed to the College Council for a term to expire on June 30, 2021.
“I was delighted to learn of Linda’s appointment as chair of the College Council,” said Buffalo State President Katherine Conway-Turner. “Linda has been a wonderful champion of Buffalo State for many years and I look forward to working alongside her, our newest member Pete Grum, and the rest of the Council as we continue to advance our college.
“I would also like to thank Howard Zemsky for his unparalleled support and contributions to Buffalo State,” Conway-Turner added. “Although he is stepping aside from his official role with the college, Howard has assured me he will remain a dedicated member of the Buffalo State extended family.”
The College Council is responsible for the operations and affairs of Buffalo State. It is composed of ten members—nine appointees of the governor, and one elected student representative. Appointees serve seven-year terms, and student representatives are elected for one-year terms.
About Linda Dobmeier
Dobmeier, who has been a member of the College Council since 2012, is vice president of Dobmeier Janitor Supply Inc. and a past chair of the Buffalo State College Foundation. After earning her B.S. in elementary education at Buffalo State, she spent 11 years teaching on Grand Island and earned a master of education from the University at Buffalo and a master of business administration from Canisius College. In 1982, she joined her family’s business, Dobmeier Janitor Supply Inc., which she continues to manage today.
Dobmeier was a major force on the Buffalo State College Foundation Board of Directors, where she served as a member of the board, a member of the Executive Committee, and chair of the Nominating Committee. She was elected chair of the foundation in 2007. Dobmeier has also served on the board of the Burchfield Penney Art Center, is a member of the Peterson Society (Buffalo State’s planned giving society), and has generously supported the annual Scholarship Gala and Golf and Tennis Scholarship Classic. She also serves on the boards of the Amherst Police Foundation, the Beechwood Foundation, the Niagara Lutheran Health Foundation, and the Brothers of Mercy Campus Foundation. Additionally she is a member of the Board of Governors for Roswell Park Cancer Institute, and is a past trustee of Canisius College.
About Allen F. “Pete” Grum
Grum has been the President and CEO of Rand Capital Corporation since 1995. Rand Capital (NASDAQ: RAND) is a publicly traded investment firm headquarted in Buffalo, New York. Rand has invested in 29 companies who employ more than 2,500 employees. For the past 15 years he has been active in the Buffalo State College Foundation in many roles including Chairman of the Investment Committee. He earned his master of business administration from Rochester Institute of Technology and his bachelor of arts in economics from Eisenhower College and lives in the City of Buffalo.
About Charles Naughton, '85
Naughton, an attorney with Clayton & Bergevin, is an alumnus of Buffalo State earning his bachelor’s degree in political science summa cum laude while employed as a City of Niagara Falls firefighter. Naughton retired from the Niagara Falls Fire Department in 2003, where he last served as a Battalion Chief. He attended the University at Buffalo Law School, which conferred upon him a juris doctorate cum laude in 1988. Following his admission to the New York Bar, Naughton’s law practice focused on family and governmental law.
Naughton has served as the Niagara County Human Resources Director, Niagara County Risk Manager, Wheatfield Town Attorney, and Town of Tonawanda Director of Labor Relations.