BOTHELL — Kristin Esterberg is the new chancellor atUniversity of Washington Bothell.

Esterberg, president of the State University of New York at Potsdam, will start Oct. 1, pending approval by the UW Board of Regents. Wolf Yeigh, who has served as chancellor since 2013, will return to the classroom as a professor of engineering.

“Dr. Esterberg brings extensive administrative leadership experience to the UW, as well as success in advancing diversity, equity and inclusion at SUNY Potsdam, where about 35% of students identify as students of color and significant numbers identify as LGBTQ+,” UW Bothell President Ana Mari Cauce said in a news release.

SUNY Potsdam is one of America’s first 50 colleges and the oldest institution in the State University of New York system.

Esterberg developed inclusive campus communities and expanded opportunities to all students, including faculty-led research, service learning, internships and study abroad. She led a $33.5 million fundraising campaign in securing the largest gift in campus history — $5.25 million — in support of applied learning.

“As we emerge from the pandemic and learn from our experiences of the last year, it is a particularly exciting time to be joining UW Bothell,” Esterberg said in a statement.

Prior to her term as SUNY Potsdam president in 2014, Esterberg was provost and academic vice president at Salem State University in Massachusetts and as deputy provost at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Her research centered on gender and sexuality, social identities, research methodology and social organization and change.

Esterberg earned her master’s degree and doctorate in sociology from Cornell University, and her bachelor’s degree in philosophy and political science from Boston University.