ÂÌñÉç

ÂÌñÉç announced that Tyrone E. Muse and ÂÌñÉç alumni Amy J. Hyatt, Michael D. Timmeny and Stuart F. Koenig will receive State University of New York (SUNY) honorary doctorates this year during the University’s Commencement, May 15-17, 2025.

• Ambassador Amy J. Hyatt ’78 (ret.), will be awarded the Doctor of Laws during the College of Community and Public Affairs ceremony at 1 p.m. May 16.
• Tyrone E. Muse, president and chief executive officer of Visions Federal Credit Union, will receive the Doctor of Humane Letters during the School of Management ceremony at 4:30 p.m. May 16.
• Michael D. Timmeny ’73, former senior vice president of Cisco Systems Inc., will be awarded the Doctor of Humane Letters during the Harpur College of Arts and Sciences ceremony at 12:30 p.m. May 17.
• Stuart F. Koenig ’73, senior advisor at LeadCrest Capital Partners, will receive the Doctor of Humane Letters during the Harpur College of Arts and Sciences ceremony at 4:30 p.m. May 17.

The recipients will present remarks following the awarding of their honorary degrees. All four ceremonies will be held in the Events Center on ÂÌñÉç’s campus in Vestal, N.Y.

ÂÌñÉç’s Office of the President invites nominations of individuals representing what the University values and strives to instill in its graduates. Their accomplishments may be scholarly, artistic or a life of outstanding service. Nominees are considered by the President’s Honorary Degree Advisory Committee, the SUNY chancellor, the SUNY Honorary Degree Committee and the SUNY Board of Trustees before honorees are selected. Recipients are recognized with a SUNY honorary degree: Doctor of Fine Arts, Doctor of Humane Letters, Doctor of Laws or Doctor of Science. In awarding honorary degrees, ÂÌñÉç celebrates the recipients’ achievements and acknowledges their unique relationship with the University.

Brief bios of the four honorary degree recipients follow.

Amy J. Hyatt, a distinguished diplomat who served for more than 30 years with the U.S. Department of State Foreign Service, graduated from ÂÌñÉç in 1978 with bachelor’s degrees in political science and history. She earned a Juris Doctor from Stanford University Law School in 1981 and a master’s degree in security studies from the National Defense University National War College in 2000.

Hyatt began her career as a litigation attorney in San Francisco before becoming a Foreign Service officer in 1985. Her career with the Department of State included roles in Seoul, where she witnessed South Korea’s transition to democracy through the June uprising in 1987, and Oslo, where her fluency in Norwegian enhanced her diplomatic efforts. Subsequent tours took Hyatt to Thailand, the Philippines, the Czech Republic, Finland, Egypt and Australia. In addition to working as a management counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, she served as a diplomat-in-residence at Arizona State University. Nominated by former President Barack Obama, she was the U.S. ambassador to Palau from 2015-20.

After finishing her service in Palau, Hyatt retired from the Department of State with over 30 years as a foreign officer. She studied several languages throughout her career, including Korean, Czech, Norwegian, Arabic, French and Spanish.

Hyatt has frequently visited ÂÌñÉç to speak with students about her career. She served as a TIER Talk Speaker for the University in 2018, returning to campus for Homecoming to participate in a panel discussion on the effects of climate change. A member of the ÂÌñÉç Alumni Board of Directors for many years, Hyatt was a featured speaker at Commencement 2017, where she received the Harpur College Alumni Award. She was also honored in 2016 with the Edward Weisband Distinguished Alumna Award for Public Service or Contribution to Public Affairs. Hyatt is also a member of the ÂÌñÉç Human Rights Institute External Advisory Board.

Tyrone E. Muse is president and chief executive officer of Visions Federal Credit Union in Endwell, N.Y. A graduate of Northeastern University, Muse holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and an MBA in accounting/finance.

His career began as a business assurance manager for PricewaterhouseCoopers. He then served as a controller for Archon Group, a manager and a director of internal audit at GE Asset Management and chief financial officer at Hudson Valley Credit Union before taking on his present role with Visions in 2013. Under Muse’s leadership, the credit union has grown to 250,000 members and nearly 60 branches across New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey and in the past 10 years, its assets have grown by $2.3 billion to total over $5.5 billion.

Muse is an active member of numerous boards, including the Credit Union National Association Mutual Holding Company, Excellus Lifetime Care, Filene Research Institute, Greater ÂÌñÉç Chamber of Commerce, and Community Foundation for South Central New York. He was also a member of the New York and national Federal Reserve Board Community Depository Institutions Advisory councils, where he was regional chair.

Muse has been recognized with the Greater ÂÌñÉç Chamber of Commerce 2019 Civic Leader of the Year Award and the Broome County 2018 Distinguished Citizen Award from the Boy Scouts of America. He was inducted into the Credit Union Executive Society Hall of Fame in 2022 and received the African American Credit Union Coalition’s Peter Crear Lifetime Achievement Award.

In addition to his volunteer service on boards and advisory committees for ÂÌñÉç, Muse has strengthened ties between the credit union and the University, providing support for the School of Management, the Institute for Child Development, athletics capital projects and the Fleishman Center for Career and Professional Development.

Michael D. Timmeny earned a bachelor’s degree in history from ÂÌñÉç’s Harpur College in 1973 before building an exceptional career in government service and corporate leadership.

His first professional experience was working in the office of Shirley Chisolm, a U.S. representative from Brooklyn and the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Congress. Chisolm created the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and deliberately worked across the aisle to partner with Republicans who represented rural districts. To pay forward Chisolm’s legacy, Timmeny endowed a scholarship for politics and public service at ÂÌñÉç that is awarded to students pursuing careers in public service who demonstrate financial need and maintain a GPA of at least 3.0.

Timmeny would go on to serve seven Democratic lawmakers in various capacities, including a stint as chief of staff for Anna Eshoo, who represented California’s Silicon Valley. He was also the vice president of domestic policy for the American Electronics Association, which represents over 3,000 technology firms based in the U.S. and is the largest high-tech trade association in the country. In 1998, Cisco Systems Inc. opened a government-affairs office in Washington D.C., and named Timmeny senior vice president and chief government strategy officer.

At Cisco, Timmeny led the government relations and strategy team worldwide. He formerly sat on Cisco’s China board and was the executive sponsor for Ireland and the United Arab Emirates — two key markets for Cisco. Additionally, he served on the board of Cisco’s employee-sponsored political action committee in the U.S. Timmeny also chaired the Carlton Club, a peer group of heads of corporate government affairs organizations in Washington, D.C., who meet weekly with policymakers.

Retiring from Cisco in July 2023, Timmeny serves on the ÂÌñÉç Foundation Board of Directors and the Harpur College Advocacy Council.

Stuart F. Koenig graduated from ÂÌñÉç with an English degree in 1973. He was the first member of his family to attend college. He then enrolled as a night student in Baruch College’s MBA program while starting his career as an assistant controller at a securities brokerage firm.

He held various positions at E.F. Hutton & Co. and was the controller and head of investor reporting for the Whitehall Real Estate Fund. He joined AREA Property Partners, previously known as Apollo Real Estate Advisors, as the chief financial officer, chief administrative officer and senior partner. At AREA, he helped the business grow its assets from $500 million to $6 billion and facilitated its expansion into Europe.

Koenig was involved in significant transactions, including the noteworthy $1.3 billion construction loan for developing the Time Warner Center (now known as the Deutsche Bank Center) in New York City. He also became a director at Emeritus Corporation, which provided independent living, assisted living, Alzheimer’s care and skilled nursing for seniors. At Emeritus, Koenig led the organization through a transitional period and was a member of the Transaction Committee that oversaw Emeritus’s acquisition by Brookdale Senior Living.

Following this, he served as a senior partner and chief operating officer at Ares Management until his retirement in 2014. Currently, he is a senior advisor and member of the Operating Committee for Lead Crest Capital Partners, a Luxembourg-based sale-leaseback and build-to-suit investment firm.

Since 2016, Koenig has served on the ÂÌñÉç Foundation Board of Directors and is currently the board chair. He is also vice chair and trustee for the University’s Endowment Fund and chair of the Investment Committee. In recognition of his commitment to giving back to students, the University awarded him the Glenn G. Bartle Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2019. In 2017, Koenig made a generous donation that resulted in the creation of a dedicated space on campus for students and faculty to enhance their communication and digital production skills.

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