Milagros “Milly” Peña

Milagros (Milly) Peña is the sixth president of Purchase College, State University of New York (SUNY) and the first Latina president in the SUNY system. She is the daughter of Dominican immigrants, and was the first in her family to graduate from college. An accomplished scholar who has published widely in her field, she received her doctorate and master’s degree in sociology from SUNY Stony Brook. Prior to her appointment at Purchase College, Peña most recently held the positions of dean of the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences and professor of sociology and ethnic studies at the University of California, Riverside. Before that, she was a professor, associate dean, and the director of the Center for Women’s Studies and Gender Research at the University of Florida.