Patrick Russell Named to SUNY Plattsburgh College Council

January 17, 2012

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has appointed Patrick K. Russell of Morrisonville a member of the SUNY Plattsburgh College Council for a term that will run through June 30, 2013.

Russell will take the place of Arnie Amell, a long-time council member who was serving as chair when he died last year.

“We are pleased to welcome Pat to the council,” President John Ettling said. “Pat is no stranger to SUNY Plattsburgh. He has attended events on campus; is well known by many faculty and staff; and is currently co-chair of the Advisory Board for the School of Business and Economics.”

Russell, for his part, is pleased to serve the State University of New York.

“I feel very good about the appointment,” Russell said. “I, myself, am a graduate of SUNY Albany, and I have four children who are all SUNY grads — three from Plattsburgh — and a grandson who is currently attending Plattsburgh. I am a very big believer in SUNY.”

Russell is one of three founding shareholders of Abbott, Frenyea & Russell CPA PC, a regional firm of six certified public accountants serving Clinton, Essex and Franklin counties. He is currently the corporate secretary and vice president of tax services for the firm.

Prior to the establishment of Abbott, Frenyea & Russell, he served as a shareholder and vice president of tax services for a three-office regional CPA firm, was a manager of federal taxes at PepsiCo Inc. and served as senior tax manager with the international accounting firm Ernst & Young at offices in New York City and Albany. Russell is also a registered representative with Genworth Financial Inc. and has served as an adjunct instructor at SUNY Plattsburgh.

Russell has played a number of roles in the community, including serving as president of the CVPH Foundation Board of Directors; past president of the City of Plattsburgh Local Development Corporation, the YMCA and the Kiwanis Club of Queensbury; a member of Clinton County Development Corporation; past chair of the Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of Commerce; past treasurer of the Battle of Plattsburgh Association and the Clinton County Democratic Party; and past chairman, treasurer and assistant treasurer of Girl Scouts of the North Country.

He will assume his position when the council gathers for its first meeting of the year at 1 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 16, in the Alumni Conference Room, Angell College Center, on the Plattsburgh campus. The public is invited to attend.