New SUNY Oswego professor has worked in Germany, the UK and Korea

By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

This year, SUNY Oswego officially kicks off a new program, higher education leadership, with the hire of Peter G. Ghazarian, Ed.D., associate professor and program coordinator of higher education leadership.

Although hailing from Hudson, Ohio, he has worked in Germany, the UK and Korea.

While in the UK, he met his wife, Mi Young Kim. The couple has lived in her native South Korea twice, but eventually decided to settle in the US so their children Cecile and Serena could know Ghazarian’s family better.

Some of his roles include teaching English as a foreign language, which has helped him better understand the challenges diverse students face while seeking higher education.

While he was in his doctoral program, the academic ranking of world universities was starting to gain attention. He became interested in the emphasis on branding institutions.

“Essentially, I believe in higher education for the public good,” he said. “There are certain influences that don’t necessarily have the public good in mind that are increasing exerting influence in how institutions operation. Seeing that and sensing it firsthand, it shifted my attention to higher education.

“In South Korea, I encountered a lot of systemic obstacles to students’ success and being as effective as they could be,” he added. “It sparked interest in educational leadership.”

A couple of moves later—both career-wise and physically—Ghazarian and his family were living in Ohio near his family when he heard about the opening at Oswego.

“I felt inspired to apply; I’m passionate about focusing on higher education,” he said. “I enjoyed the interdisciplinary nature of the former position. I’m really focused on higher education. I saw the position in Oswego as an opportunity to follow my passion.”

He wants to help higher education to continue to provide a benefit to everyone and foster social growth and progress while not getting stuck in less-than-ideal pursuits.

Ghazarian’s family remains in the Cleveland area for the school year so his children can finish middle school before they join him in Oswego. He lives on campus as a resident mentor, which he counts as a plus. Because his graduate program will meet weekly in the evening, he would otherwise have a difficult time meeting students and other faculty members.

“This is a great opportunity to live on campus and get to know everyone better and be part of the Oswego community,” he said.

Ghazarian enjoys cooking, gardening and playing games since these pursuits help him connect with other people.