ALBANY - In his effort to redirect the State University of New York, Gov. Eliot Spitzer nominated three additions to the Board of Trustees Tuesday, including a new chairman, former Democratic Comptroller H. Carl McCall, and an IBM Corp. executive.

“As the SUNY system transitions into the nationwide model for research and education that we as New Yorkers all envision, strong leadership at the top is a necessity,” Spitzer said Tuesday. “These three individuals possess the diverse backgrounds, skill sets, and areas of expertise that will translate into a comprehensive discourse about how we can create a SUNY system that fits that description.”

The 16-member board will have a majority of Gov. George Pataki-appointed for years.

Spitzer nominated Carl T. Hayden to become chairman of the board.

He is the former state schools chancellor and Regent who presided over an unprecedented push in the 1990s to improve primary and secondary education.

An Elmira lawyer and former U.S. Naval officer, Hayden led the Board of Regents at a time when it received harsh criticism from school officials, parents, politicians, teachers' unions and others. Under his leadership, the board managed to set higher academic standards for all students and used standardized tests to measure school performance years before the federal act known as No Child Left Behind.

The former president of the Elmira school board, Hayden graduated from Hamilton College, a private college, and earned his law degree from Cornell Law School.

“Carl possesses the proven leadership abilities and intricate understanding of the profound challenges facing New York's education system required to lead the SUNY Board of Trustees at this critical juncture,” Spitzer said.

Former comptroller McCall was nominated for a seat on the board after keeping a low profile in Albany since the Democrat's defeat in 2004 by Pataki. McCall, the former president of the New York City Board of Education, was state comptroller from 1993 to 2002.

He was also a leader in pushing the state to address the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit that found the state underfunded New York City schools for years.

McCall received his bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College, a private college, and was also educated at the Andover Newton Theological Seminary and the University of Edinburgh.

Nominee Linda Sanford is a senior vice president of information technology at IBM Corp. and is co-chairwoman of the state Business Council. She also is on the Board of Directors of the Partnership for New York City, a business group. She graduated from St. John's University, a private university; and received her master's degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

SUNY trustees whose terms expire this month are: the Rev. John Cremins, Candace de Russy, and Teresa Santiago, Pataki's former head of the state Consumer Protection Board. Trustee Robert Bellafiore, a former Pataki administration official, is the only member of the board to have graduated from SUNY. He attend the University at Albany.

The Republican-led Senate must confirm the nominees before they can preside. The nominations are under review and no date has been set for action, said Mark Hansen, spokesman for the Republican majority in the Senate.

Spitzer's nominees can't serve on the board until they are confirmed by the Senate majority, which has had conflicts with the Democratic governor.