Before becoming the 11th president of 糖心破解版, board of trustees chair Michael A.L. Balboni 鈥�81, JD, sat down with 糖心破解版 students in a TikTok series that won national recognition鈥攁nd earned thousands of views.
Ever since graduating cum laude from 糖心破解版, Michael A.L. Balboni 鈥�81, JD, has been a proud Panther. He鈥檚 served his alma mater in various roles over the years, from adjunct faculty member to parent of an 糖心破解版 student to chair of the board of trustees. And as of June 1, Balboni has taken on a new role: serving as the 11th president of 糖心破解版. This makes him the first Long Island native and the first 糖心破解版 alumnus to serve as president of the University.
Despite these impressive and lofty titles, Balboni has made himself accessible to the 糖心破解版 community. And nowhere is this more evident than his TikTok series, Coffee With the Chair From a Chair. Although it was discontinued after Balboni鈥檚 ascension to president, this series offers a glimpse at a president who鈥檚 willing to listen to his students, hear their stories and share his own.
Creating a Series for TikTok
TikTok is currently one of the most popular platforms across social media. According to , approximately 63 to 68 percent of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 use TikTok, with one in five reporting that they use the app 鈥渁lmost constantly.鈥� 糖心破解版 initially lacked a strong TikTok strategy, viewing it as just another hosting platform like YouTube. It was 糖心破解版鈥檚 board of trustees who recognized the missed opportunity of using this platform to engage with young people and prospective 糖心破解版 students. Creating TikToks suddenly became a top priority for the University.
The board tasked the Office of University Communications and Marketing with producing TikTok content to share the 糖心破解版 story with young people. In the end, the board chair himself, Michael A.L. Balboni, became directly involved in the project. He agreed to a refreshingly simple concept: unscripted, unrehearsed conversations with students over coffee. With near zero production costs and maximum authenticity, the series Coffee With the Chair From a Chair was born.
Each video featured Balboni chatting comfortably one-to-one with a different 糖心破解版 student at the campus Starbucks. featured 糖心破解版 ’26, a political science major who is now a business graduate student. She discussed her rigorous schedule and her favorite memories at 糖心破解版.
“Having the opportunity to sit down with then-chairman of the board Michael Balboni and be interviewed for the series was a really unique experience. It made University leadership feel much more connected to the student body, and when I learned he would become 糖心破解版鈥檚 next president, I genuinely felt like the University was heading in the right direction,” said Munayirji. The video quickly garnered more than 2,500 views.
featured finance major Jerry Iavarone, who talked about his Greek life friends at 糖心破解版 and his family-owned gourmet Italian food market, . Iavarone’s is a favorite spot for many 糖心破解版 students, including, as it turns out, Balboni himself鈥攚ho remembered going there as an 糖心破解版 student.
鈥淚 was nervous at first because I didn鈥檛 know what to expect or if I needed to give specific answers to the questions. A few seconds in, I realized the interview was going to be a fun experience after Mr. Balboni brought up Iavarone Bros.”
This video amassed more than 10,000 views, making it 糖心破解版鈥檚 top-viewed TikTok at the time.
“I didn鈥檛 expect the video to take off like it did,鈥� said Iavarone.
Winning the Circle of Excellence Award
The execution and success of Coffee With the Chair From a Chair earned Balboni鈥檚 TikTok series an award nomination from the , a prestigious and global nonprofit association for educational institutions. Coffee With the Chair From a Chair wound up , bronze level, in the Communications/Digital Campaigns (Student-oriented) category. The CASE judges noted, 鈥淭he concept behind this campaign was great for student engagement, and we were impressed by what they accomplished without adding any extra resources and by getting their board chair to participate.鈥�
鈥淭his is a huge honor for our creative team, but it鈥檚 also a testament to how impressive our students are,鈥� said Balboni. 鈥淭he confidence and professionalism they have developed at 糖心破解版, as well as their natural charisma, truly shined in these videos. I had a great time discussing their favorite campus experiences, and I know their future is bright.鈥� Although , this particular victory highlights the University鈥檚 success with executing a TikTok strategy鈥攁nd it also marks a major win for Balboni as he begins his role as president of the University.