Ojakian Retiring as Leader of Connecticut State Colleges and Universities

Comings and Goings …

Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) President Mark Ojakian announced we will retire after five years as CEO of the organization responsible for 17 higher education institutions, 9,000 employees and more than 100,000 students, effective Jan. 1, 2021. He has spent 40 years in state government, including three as chief of staff to then-Gov. Dannel Malloy.

Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology named its chief of staff and former director of development at Harvard Medical School Aisha Francis to be the college’s new CEO, succeeding Anthony Benoit. Francis will lead the small private college’s move from Boston’s South End to a new campus in Roxbury’s Nubian Square.

Andrea Taylor, a former Microsoft executive, Boston-area journalist and president and CEO of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute in Alabama, was named Boston University’s first senior diversity officer.

Maine Maritime Academy concluded its search for a vice president for academic affairs with the recruitment of Keith M. Williamson, who is currently dean of the School of Business and Technology at Fitchburg State University.

Westfield State University appointed former Rhode Island School of Design student development professional Maggie Balch to be dean of students at the western Massachusetts university, overseeing student activities and leadership, student conduct, residential engagement and the Career Center.