Travis Proulx

Vice President for External Affairs

Travis Proulx joined Fordham in January 2025 as the University’s inaugural vice president for external affairs. In this role, Proulx (pronounced proo) leads Fordham’s work advocating resources at the federal, state, and local levels, as well as deepening Fordham’s positive community impact in the Bronx, Manhattan, Westchester, and globally.

He oversees government relations, community affairs, and the Center for Community Engaged Learning, as well as the development and launch of the future Bronx Green Jobs Center. 

Prior to joining Fordham, Proulx served the State University of New York (SUNY), where he led government relations, partnerships, and communications for the largest comprehensive system of public higher education in the country. At SUNY he also managed New York’s Small Business Development Center network, with its 23 regional offices.

Proulx successfully advocated for the expansion of the State’s Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) and Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP), as well as the creation of professional development institutes that operationalized SUNY’s commitment to ensuring diversity, equity, and inclusion in leadership. He also negotiated New York’s name, image, likeness law, and secured historic funding for the research and development of semiconductor technology. 

Before to his service with SUNY, Proulx led advocacy and communications for Metropolitan Public Strategies, Environmental Advocates of New York, and the New York State Senate. Key campaigns include passage of New York’s groundbreaking climate emissions law and the state’s 2014 ban on fracking.

Proulx is a proud alumnus of the CUNY Graduate Center and the HEOP program at St. Lawrence University; he understands firsthand the transformative power higher education has in creating opportunity and upward social mobility.