The board of directors of the Metropolitan Development Foundation (MDF) have elected SUNY Oswego president Deborah Stanley as its new chairperson. The board named Arthur Grant, president and CEO of Cadaret Grant & Co. and Joe Verzino, president and CEO of Liftech Equipment, as VPs. "Given President Stanley's tremendous record of leadership and accomplishment at SUNY Oswego and her commitment to the development of the region, I believe the board has made a truly outstanding selection to be the MDF's new chairperson," said Irwin Davis, MDF president and CEO. Stanley succeeds David Nutting as MDF chairman. Stanley has served as president of SUNY Oswego since 1997. Her tenure has been marked by a commitment to learner-centered academic excellence and innovative new programs for first-year students, including a cap on class sizes, a major reading initiative, and individual advisement strategies for new students. Stanley has also overseen an increase in student enrollment, an increasingly diverse student body, new scholarship programs, and most visibly, the 2008 opening of the SUNY Oswego Metro Center, in downtown Syracuse. An affiliate of the Metropolitan Development Association of Syracuse & Central New York, the MDF fulfills a critical role in the effort to improve economic vitality and quality of life in the central upstate region. At present, the MDF is focused on redevelopment projects underway at the city's core and is working with the Ford Foundation to leverage new investment in areas adjacent to the central business district. Incorporated in 1981, the MDF is a 501(c)3 public foundation that serves as the MDA's vehicle for the funding and implementation of projects of importance to the city and central New York.