Hired
Jim Lucchese, Berklee College of Music (Mass.)
Jim Lucchese, a 20-year music industry executive who’s known as an artist advocate, will step up as Berklee’s fifth president on Jan. 1. Lucchese, a drummer and attorney who has advised Berklee over the years, was previously the CEO of The Echo Nest, a start-up that helped listeners discover new artists.
The company was acquired by Spotify in 2014, where Lucchese later founded the “Creator” team to provide services directly to musicians. In 2019, he was was named CEO of Sofar Sounds, which has has curated over 30,000 live performances.
Lucchese says on the district’s website that he is eager to learn from students’ and faculty’s “experiences and expertise across such a wide range of creative disciplines, from music education, dance, and theater to management, production, performance, music therapy, and more.”
“All of these talents and perspectives are central as we uphold Berklee’s mission, honoring the artistic traditions of the African diaspora and centering diversity in all its forms,” he adds.
James Genovese, Northwestern State University (La.)
Louisiana Supreme Court Associate Justice James Genovese has been named the 21st president of Northwestern State University, the school from which he earned his bachelor’s degree in 1974. Genovese has served on the Louisiana Supreme Court since 2017 and worked as an attorney for 21 years before he first becoming a judge in 1995.
Abiódún “G-P” Gòkè-Pariolá, North Central College (Ill.)
Abiódún “G-P” Gòkè-Pariolá will lead North Central College for a transitional period as the college’s board does not expect to launch a national presidential search before spring 2026. Gòkè-Pariolá has served as North Central College’s provost and vice president for academic affairs since 2015.
Gòkè-Pariolá has overseen the expansion of academic offerings, including new undergraduate majors in engineering, neuroscience, environmental studies, health science and nutrition, and a growing suite of graduate health science programs, including occupational therapy, physician assistant studies, physical therapy, athletic training and nursing.
Maria A. Pharr, Pitt Community College (N.C.)
Maria A. Pharr has been appointed the first female president of Pitt Community College after having led South Piedmont Community College (also in North Carolina) for the past seven years.
As Pitt Community College’s assistant vice president of academic affairs from 2011 to 2014, Pharr helped increase enrollment, improved distance learning programming and worked with Pitt County Schools to expand career and college programs. She also developed a partnership with North Carolina Wesleyan University that allowed the community college’s students to earn associate and bachelor’s degrees on Pitt’s campus within three years.
Retiring presidents
David A. Thomas, Morehouse College (Ga.)
President David A. Thomas intends to resign from Morehouse College at the end of the school year in June, 2025 after more than seven years at the helm. The HBCU described Thomas as “record-breaking” as the college has drawn greater international attention, cemented partnerships with notable institutions, corporations, and individuals, and increased applications from high-achieving students.
Thomas has also overseen substantial infrastructure investments and raised more funds than any president in Morehouse’s 157-year history. The college’s $500 million capital campaign has “far surpassed the halfway mark since its launch in fall 2021.”
Before becoming president of Morehouse, Thomas was the H. Naylor Fitzhugh Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, dean of Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, and an assistant professor at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. At McDonough, Thomas led a successful $130 million capital campaign, redesigned the MBA curriculum and launched the school’s first online degree program.
Mary Lou Retelle, Ana Maria College (Mass.)
President Mary Lou Retelle will retire from Ana Maria College at the end of the 2024-25 school year after more than four decades working in higher education. Retelle, named president in 2015 after serving the school as executive vice president for four years, called students the “heart and soul of her leadership” in her retirement announcement.
Stepping down
Steve Easton, Dickinson State University (N.D.)
Steve Easton, who has been president of Dickinson State University since 2020, is leaving the school in the wake of the resignation of the school’s entire full-time nursing faculty. The faculty members were concerned with the amount of credits they were required to teach, among other issues, Easton acknowledged in a letter to the campus community.
Easton, a graduate of Dickinson State, practiced law for more than 20 years before becoming a professor and administrator.
As previously reported by University Business:
- Former U.S. senator Ben Sasse resigned as president of the University of Florida after less than two years at the helm to help tend to his wife’s medical problems and spend more time with family.
- Larry Robinson has announced he is leaving Florida A&M after the value of a $237 million was called into question. Robison led the HBCU for nearly seven years.
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