Marisa Sanchez Benincasa 

Hamilton College has named Marisa Sanchez Benincasa as vice president for communications and marketing. Benincasa currently serves as executive director of institute affairs at the Arizona State University (ASU) Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. She will start at Hamilton immediately after Labor Day. Benincasa has worked at the Herberger Institute since 2019, first as director of communications and marketing, and since 2022 in her current role. She served previously, in various capacities, for Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Phoenix, the Scottsdale Unified School District, A Stepping Stone Foundation, among others. Marisa received her bachelor’s degree from ASU and her MBA from the University of Phoenix.

Andrew Smith

Dr. Andrew Smith has been named Dean of the College of Professional Studies (CPS) at Millikin University, effective July 1. He joins Millikin from Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio, where he served as Assistant Dean of Outcomes Data & Accreditation and Instructor in the Education Department. Previously, he was an Assistant Professor of Sport Management at Nichols College in Massachusetts. Dr. Smith holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Arcadia University, as well as a Master of Arts in History, a Certificate of Advanced Study in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and a Ph.D. in History from Purdue University.

Richard L. McCormick

Richard L. McCormick has been appointed interim president of Stony Brook University, effective August 1, 2024. McCormick served as president of Rutgers University from 2002-2012, and as president of the University of Washington from 1995-2002. He was vice chancellor and provost at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1992-1995. McCormick was a member of Rutgers University History faculty from 1976-1992, including three years as the dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in American studies from Amherst College and a PhD in history from Yale University. 

Kent Fuchs

Kent Fuchs has been named interim president of the University of Florida, effective August 1. Fuchs, who currently teaches an electrical engineering class in the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, served as UF president from 2015 to 2023.

Prior to his UF presidency, Fuchs was provost of Cornell University, where he also served as Cornell’s Joseph Silbert Dean of Engineering. He joined Cornell from Purdue University, where he headed the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Fuchs earned his doctorate in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Illinois, and a Master of Divinity degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from Duke University.