Travis Proulx, a seasoned advocacy and communications leader with decades of experience working in New York state government, the nonprofit sector, and higher education, has been named Fordham’s inaugural Vice President for External Affairs. He will start on Jan. 21.
The role was created to bring together the work of Fordham’s government relations team and the Center for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL), helping to drive major public initiatives, such as the $50 million EPA grant, and make the University a catalyst for positive impact, locally and globally. Proulx will leverage his expertise in local, state, and federal government relations to secure funding for Fordham’s academic initiatives and amplify the University’s civic engagement at home and abroad.
“Fordham is a unique institution in New York City—it’s just part of our mission to serve the city,” said Tokumbo Shobowale, Fordham senior vice president, CFO, and treasurer, to whom Proulx will report. “But we could do even more, and part of that is creating better relationships and more coordination with various organizations, public and non-public, across our communities in the city and beyond.”
Shobowale said Proulx intimately understands a university’s dual role in educating students and serving their communities. “He’s done exactly this kind of work for many years in different contexts and he’s very Fordham. He really understands the role that higher education—and government support for higher education—can play for our students.”
Proulx said he’s always known Fordham to be “an exceptional institution.”
“I think amongst all of New York’s colleges and universities, Fordham puts mission at the forefront of its work. A lot of universities share these values but have struggled with how to operationalize them. Fordham is a standout in this area—it’s an institution that’s continually trying to do better. And that’s why I’m so excited to have this opportunity.”
He said he is particularly excited by the current leadership, namely President Tania Tetlow and Shobowale, who joined Fordham 15 months ago from The New School, where he served for 10 years after spending more than a decade working in city government.
“This leadership team sends the message that they recognize and respect Fordham’s excellence and they want to do more.”
A Personal Commitment to Creating Opportunity
Proulx spent six years at the nation’s largest public university system, the State University of New York (SUNY). There he served as vice chancellor for agency and community engagement, overseeing government relations, policy development, budget and research advocacy, community engagement, and marketing across the system’s 64 campuses.
As the first in his family to go to college, Proulx is deeply committed to making college more attainable and affordable. New York’s Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) gave him the financial and personal support he needed to graduate from St. Lawrence University in the Adirondacks. He’s also an alumnus of the CUNY Graduate Center. He said he’s proud of his work at SUNY in helping to expand the income threshold and eligibility requirements for New York State’s Tuition Assistance Program (TAP).
“It’s important to me to be able to create those opportunities for others who come from similar backgrounds and similar struggles. … That commitment to serving and helping others lift themselves up has been the common thread throughout my career. I would never want to work someplace that wasn’t committed to doing better for others.”
Proulx has also worked on multiple initiatives to address climate change, from creating a statewide plan for agriculture innovations such as vertical farming to the $15 million EV charging network he helped secure for SUNY. Prior to his service at SUNY, he helped lead communications and organizing in support of New York’s 2014 ban on fracking.
He said he admires the exceptional work already happening at Fordham, and plans to build on it—first and foremost with a commitment to being accessible to the campus community.
“I want people to know that they can reach out to me if they have an idea,” he said, “So we can talk through how to bring in new opportunities and resources for Fordham.”
