Former Verizon executive appointed to state university board

Frederic Salerno. Photographer: Craig Ruttle/Bloomberg

Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday appointed the former chief financial officer of Verizon and former New York higher education authority Fred Salerno to the State University System Board of Governors.

Salerno, 74, fills a vacant seat on the board for a term effective immediately and ending January 6, 2019. His appointment is subject to Senate confirmation.

Of Hobe Sound, Salerno is a longtime veteran of the telecommunications industry. He received his bachelor’s degree from Manhattan College and his master’s degree from Adelphi University. His C.V. is extensive, packed with various leadership positions including stints as Verizon’s CFO and top spots at Viacom.

Between 1990 and 1996, Salerno chaired the Board of Trustees for the State University of New York, according to his Bloomberg profile, which also claims he’s held trustee positions with the Inner City Scholarship Fund, his alma mater Manhattan College, and the Archdiocese of New York’s Partnership for Quality Education.

He at one point also was appointed by a New York governor to head the Salerno Commission, a task force to examine the equity of state-funded education policies and practices.

The Board of Governors acts as the governing body of the State University System. Its authorities include operation, management, control and regulation of the state’s 12 universities. The 17-member panel has 14 gubernatorial appointees, along with Chair of the Advisory Council of Faculty Senates Gary S. Tyson, Commissioner of Education Pam Stewart, and the Chair of the Florida Student Association Kishane Patel.