President's Council & Board of Trustees

Executive Vice President & Senior Advisor to the President

As Executive Vice President & Senior Advisor to the President, Joggeshwar (Jogy) Das provides leadership for assessment, planning, resources, and accreditation.

Prior to joining D’Youville, Das served as Associate Dean in the School of Education for the State University of New York at Oswego, helping the school achieve national recognition for teacher preparation programs improving upon college professional associations and national accreditation.

Prior to SUNY Oswego, Das spent 25 years at Ohio State University, serving in multiple positions including Assistant Director of Undergraduate Programs at the Fisher College of Business School, Director of Undergraduate and Graduate services, and Manager for Quality Data Reporting for the College of Education.

Das holds an ABD from Ohio State in Anthropology and has two master’s degrees, an MA in Anthropology from Ohio State University and an MSc from the University of Delhi along with a BSc in Anthropology from the University of Delhi.

Executive Dean of Online Learning and Faculty Development

Jeremiah currently serves as the Executive Dean of Online Learning and Faculty Development at D’Youville University. At D’Youville his primary responsibility is to expand the University’s academic mission through high-quality online learning and exemplary pedagogy. During his tenure, D’Youville has seen a rise in the number and quality of online programs.

Prior to D’Youville, he held related positions at the University at Buffalo and Trocaire College. His background is in instructional design, online education, gamification, educational technology, and faculty development.

In addition to his duties at D’Youville, he has held adjunct faculty roles at several institutions teaching courses in online pedagogy and instructional design. Jeremiah holds a PhD in Curriculum, Instruction, and the Science of Learning from the University at Buffalo. His research interests include examining how faculty can integrate gamification into the design of online courses.

Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreation

Ona Halladay took over the role of Director of Intercollegiate Athletics in the fall of 2019, after previously serving as Associate Director of Athletics and Assistant Director of Athletics in her tenure at D'Youville. During her short time at the head of the department, Halladay has been instrumental in the 2020 rebranding of D'Youville Athletics from the Spartans to the Saints, as well as the athletic department's move from NCAA Division III to Division II and admittance into the East Coast Conference.

Halladay joined the D’Youville staff in August 2013, spending seven seasons as D’Youville's head softball coach in addition to roles such as senior woman administrator and compliance director.

Throughout her time at D'Youville, Halladay has assisted with the budget and finances for the department, has handled NCAA rules enforcement, and has worked with all coaches and department members in various ways.

Entering into the coaching ranks in 2010, Halladay joined the staff at St. Bonaventure where she was an assistant coach under long-time SBU head coach Mike Threehouse. Under Halladay’s direction, players were named to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team and the Atlantic 10 All-Conference Team, and the team's home run total was ranked 17th in the country during the 2011 season. 

A 2010 graduate of SUNY Brockport with a bachelor of science in psychology, Halladay was a two-time All-SUNYAC softball selection as a member of the Golden Eagles. The native of Palmyra, New York began her collegiate career playing at St. John’s University for two seasons where she was a two-year letter winner.

Halladay graduated from Canisius College in 2018 with her master's in sport administration.

Executive Vice President for Strategic Initiatives

Ralph Mueller is executive vice president for strategic initiatives and coordinates the planning and implementation of D’Youville’s mid- and long-range priorities across the President’s Council, Board of Trustees, faculty, and staff.

Dr. Mueller’s prior administrative positions in higher education included vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost at Purdue University Northwest (PNW) and dean of the College of Education, Nursing and Health Professions at the University of Hartford. At PNW, he oversaw six colleges offering more than 70 undergraduate and graduate programs, started a Center for Faculty Development and Leadership, and developed the cross-disciplinary Center for Crime, Forensics, and Security Analysis. During his tenure at Hartford, he founded the Institute for Translational Research, developed anchor partnerships with the Hartford Public Schools and Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, and constituted the college’s first external advisory board.

Before pursing senior administrative roles, Mueller served as professor and chair of the Department of Educational Leadership at the George Washington University. He became a noted quantitative research methodologist and a frequently cited contributor to the applied statistics literature. In 2021, Professor Mueller and his colleagues were honored by the American Educational Research Association with the Award for Significant Contribution to Educational Measurement and Research Methodology. He earned baccalaureate and master’s degrees in mathematics from Elon University and Wake Forest University, and a PhD in educational research and evaluation from Virginia Tech. A native of Germany, he is a former Rotary Scholar and recipient of the 2017 Elon University Distinguished Alumni Award.

Vice President for Institutional Advancement

As the Vice President for Institutional Advancement, Kim Pietro sets the strategic agenda for areas of philanthropy and engagement, advancement operations, alumni relations, and annual giving. Pietro also collaboratively manages institutional communications and oversees D’Youvile’s D’Mensions Magazine.

Pietro brings a wealth of higher education and private sector experience, including prior senior administrative roles at the Crouse Health Foundation, Syracuse University, State University of New York College at Cortland, Onondaga Community College, and LeMoyne College. Most recently, Pietro served as the director of development at the Crouse Health Foundation where she led fundraising strategy and implementation of the $22 million Crouse Cares Campaign.

A native of New Jersey, Pietro holds a Master of Business Administration from Le Moyne College; a Master of Science in higher education administration from Syracuse University; and a Bachelor of Science in physical education from the University of South Carolina. She was a recipient of a 2012 Business Journal “40 Below 40” award.