Dead Presidents

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the constitution of the United States, and the constitution of the State of New York, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of [X], according to the best of my ability

It's a requirement both in the New York State Constitution:

N.Y. CONST. Art. 13, §1 http://www.dos.ny.gov/info/constitution.htm

and in NYS law, N.Y. CIV. SERV. LAW §62.

Swearing and filing such oaths with the NYS Secretary of State is required by SUNY procedure http://www.suny.edu/sunypp/documents.cfm?doc_id=546

Oaths aren't esoteric things; the NYS Librarian had written about them recently:

"An important reminder for library trustees and library directors is that New York State Public Officer’s Law requires public officials to take an Oath of Office and file it within a timely fashion, or the position automatically becomes VACANT."

Margolis, Bernard A. "News from the State Librarian: Oaths of Office – Is Your Board in Compliance with Public Officer’s Law?" Trustee 22(1). Winter 2010-11. 2. http://librarytrustees.org/newsletter.php?newsletteryear=2011&newsletterseason=Winter&articleid=397#article http://librarytrustees.org/newsletters/newsletter-winter2011.pdf

Not filing an Oath of Office with the Secretary of State results in the office being vacated, according to N.Y. PUB. OFF. LAW §30 (1) (h).

People ex rel. Walton v. Hicks (173 App. Div. 338, affd. 221 N.Y. 503), at 341 stated of the New York Public Officers Law,

"This statute is emphatic and unequivocal. It does not seem possible that it can be misunderstood. In case a person appointed to office neglects to file his official oath within 15 days after notice of appointment or within 15 days after the commencement of the term of office, the office becomes vacant, ipso facto. That is all there is to it. No judicial procedure is necessary. No notice is necessary. Nothing is necessary. The office is vacant, as much so as though the appointee is dead. There is no incumbent, and the vacancy may be filled by the proper appointive power."

The SUNY requirement states that the SUNY University Counsel is responsible for ensuring such Oaths of Office are sworn and filed with the Secretary of State. When George M. Philip had been appointed, John J. O'Connor was General Counsel. There's been some issues with appointments for which Mr. O'Connor was responsible.

"A top official at the State University of New York accused of giving a no-show job to the daughter of the former Senate majority leader, Joseph L. Bruno, has resigned amid mounting scrutiny of his conduct.

"The university’s board of trustees voted unanimously at a meeting on Friday to accept the resignation of the official, John J. O’Connor, the secretary and a senior vice chancellor of the university system and the president of its research foundation.

The board’s vote came after trustees reviewed an 89-page report by an outside law firm hired by the SUNY chancellor, Nancy L. Zimpher, to look at the research foundation, which offered a highly critical assessment of Mr. O’Connor’s leadership style.

Kaplan, Thomas. "Under Scrutiny, Official at State University Resigns." N.Y. Times. June 3, 2011. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/04/nyregion/john-oconnor-suny-official-in-bruno-case-resigns.html?_r=0

Suspecting that many SUNY employees had not sworn and filed their Oath of Office with the Secretary of State, I'd filed a FOIA/FOIL request for them with the University at Albany's Records Access Officers on August 2, 2012: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7Mt-S77wZKfSlZiV2RvMzV3NEU/edit. Neither officer ever replied, when they're required to at least acknowledge the request within five days. I did get a nasty threatening e-mail from Clarence L. McNeill the next day, though. He cc'd it to George M. Philip, J. "Frank" Wiley, and others.

When I refiled with the Department of State instead, they informed me that Philip has no Oath of Office on file. D'oh! Well, it probably explains the nasty e-mail. Why he didn't quickly file one back in August, I don't know. Arrogance?

Anyway, to paraphrase People ex rel. Walton v. Hicks:

The office of University at Albany President is vacant, as much so as though the appointee is dead.

"For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." 1 Timothy 6:10.