Adelphi University has named a Long Islander as its new president.

Michael A.L. Balboni, of East Williston, a former state legislator and public safety official was announced Wednesday as the school’s 11th president.

Balboni is the first Adelphi alumnus and first Long Island native to be appointed to the position.

Graduating cum laude from the University in 1981, with a degree in biology, he is also the proud parent of an Adelphi alumna.

Entering politics in 1990 as a Republican, Balboni was first elected to the New York State Assembly in the 17th district, and then continued on to the State Senate in 1997.

In 2006, Balboni was named by then Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer as Deputy Secretary for Public Safety, overseeing homeland security.

The longtime politician made the move to the private sector in 2009, working as a consultant and eventually founding his own firm, RedLand Strategies.

Emerging from a comprehensive national search, Balboni was chosen after the university’s first female president, Christine M. Riordan, left the role in June 2025.

His term will officially commence on June 1.