Clare Cusack Honored With AASCU’s 2025 Distinguished Alumnus Award

Contact:
Kellee Edmonds
(202) 478-4662

NASHVILLE, November 16, 2025 - The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) today presented Clare Cusack with its 2025 Distinguished Alumnus Award (DAA), which she accepted at the association's annual conference taking place in Nashville.

Cusack is a graduate of the State University of New York (SUNY) Geneseo, where she earned a bachelor's degree in political science in 1996. In 2020, she became president and CEO of the New York Bankers Association, which represents smaller community, midsize regional, and large banks across the state of New York. She is the first woman to lead the organization in its nearly 140-year history.

"I am deeply honored to join the distinguished group of awardees who have been recognized with this honor. To be counted among them is profoundly humbling. I am proud every day to serve the New York Bankers Association and the banks that strengthen communities across our state. And I am equally proud to be a graduate of SUNY Geneseo, where my commitment to service was first shaped and continues today through my work on the Geneseo Foundation Board. In the words of our alma mater song, 'with our life's work we'll repay'- I hope in some small way this recognition reflects that spirit," said Cusack.

"We are immensely proud of Clare Cusack and her extraordinary achievements," said Melinda Treadwell, SUNY Geneseo president. "Clare's leadership and dedication exemplify the very best of what it means to be a Geneseo graduate-using intellect, integrity, and purpose to make a lasting impact on society. Her recognition with AASCU's Distinguished Alumnus Award is a tremendous honor for her and a reflection of the excellence that defines our Geneseo community."

The DAA is AASCU's highest honor. For over five decades, AASCU has recognized graduates of member institutions who have made significant contributions to not only their professional fields but also the public, intellectual, or cultural life of the country. This award helps draw attention to the significance of state colleges and universities from around the country. Past award recipients include Abigail Echo-Hawk (Pawnee), executive vice president of the Seattle Indian Health Board and director of its research division, the Urban Indian Health Institute (2024); Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America (2023); Paul LeBlanc, former president of Southern New Hampshire University (2022); and Richard R. Arnold II, educator and NASA astronaut (2021).

"Clare Cusack embodies the promise of public higher education-a promise that shapes leaders who not only imagine what's possible, but redefine what's possible," said Charles L. Welch, AASCU president and CEO. "Her journey reflects the boundless potential regional public university alumni possess to ignite innovation, strengthen communities, and transform the future of our nation. She joins an extraordinary legacy of individuals whose educational journey began at a regional public university, and we are honored to welcome her to the ranks of DAA recipients."

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The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) is a Washington, D.C.-based higher education association that represents the sector of over 500 regional public colleges, universities, and systems whose members share a learning- and teaching-centered culture, a historic commitment to student populations, and a dedication to research and creativity that advances their regions' economic progress and cultural development. These are institutions delivering America's promise.