Team

In 2008, Karen Barrows was promoted to chief of staff in the office of President William Destler. Barrows has been with the Office of the President since 1998.

Barrows manages the president’s office and serve as a member of the Administrative Council. In 2010, she was also named Secretary of the Institute, where she is responsible for the RIT Board of Trustees’ business, including support of the core and sub-committees that are maintained by the board.

Barrows joined RIT in 1989, in the Information Services division of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. In 1991, she moved to the Office of the Dean at NTID and was eventually named Assistant to the Dean in 1995.

Originally from Massachusetts, Barrows has a Bachelor of Science degree from Fitchburg State College in Early Childhood Education. Barrows earned her MBA from RIT in 2004 through the Executive MBA program in the E. Philip Saunders College of Business.

Barrows was awarded the Student Government President's Award in 2005, the Staff Council Excellence in Service Award in 2007, and is the recipient of two NTID National Advisory Group's Excellence in Service Awards.

Dr. Gerard Buckley has more than 30 years of experience in higher education, including more than 20 years serving in a variety of capacities at NTID. From 1990 to 1993, Buckley served as chairperson and assistant professor of the Department of Educational Outreach at NTID, followed by five years as director of NTID's Center for Outreach and assistant professor on the RIT/NTID Social Work Support Team.

From 1998 to 2003, he served as NTID associate dean for student services, and held the position of NTID assistant vice president for college advancement with responsibility for the admissions, placement, marketing, and outreach operations of the college from 2004 until beginning his role as President of NTID and Vice President of RIT on January 1, 2011.

RIT appointed Enid Cardinal senior sustainability advisor for the university in 2011. Cardinal is a LEED-accredited professional with a background in socially responsible investing and environmental policy.

Cardinal previously served as director of the Office of Sustainability at Illinois State University. She worked to infuse a culture of sustainability at ISU that included a reduction of office paper use, waste reduction and food scrap composting in dining services, installation of permeable parking surfaces, ride sharing and an assessment of hand-drying options. Prior to ISU, she held positions as an independent consultant, social analyst and a project controller. A native of Baldwinsville, N.Y., Cardinal earned a master¹s degree in environmental policy from Bard College and a bachelor¹s degree in biology and history from Binghamton University.

As Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations, Dr. Lisa Cauda has been the architect of the largest two fundraising campaigns in RIT’s history and under her leadership, the university has raised more than $540 million in philanthropic support. Dr. Cauda has served RIT since 2000 and was named vice president for development and alumni relations in July 2006 following the successful completion of the university’s capital campaign which ultimately surpassed its $300 million goal.

Working closely with her senior leadership, her partners across the campus and the Board of Trustees, Dr. Cauda oversees campus-wide fundraising initiatives, major campaigns, annual giving, as well as principal and major gift fundraising. She also works closely with the RIT Alumni Association Board of Directors, together fostering and advancing the RIT for Life commitment and guiding the engagement and activities of the university’s 121,000 alumni worldwide.  Under her leadership, RIT’s Division of Development and Alumni Relations has doubled in size, growing to more than 100 employees. Dr. Cauda manages an annual fundraising goal of $35 million and a working annual budget of $11 million.

Prior to joining RIT, Dr. Cauda spent eight years at Stevens Institute of Technology, ultimately serving as assistant vice president of development and campaign director. At Stevens, Dr. Cauda led the development efforts of two successful campaigns, managing corporate and foundation relations, major gifts, research and the annual fund.

Dr. Cauda earned a doctorate in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania, a master's degree in corporate and public communications from Seton Hall University, and a bachelor's degree from the University of Delaware.

Barry Culhane has been with RIT since 1974. He served in the United States Army as a medic from 1969-1971.

For more than 20 years, Culhane has contributed his time to serving the Rochester community. He has played key leadership roles with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Corporation of Greater Rochester, the Al Sigl Center, Junior Achievement of Rochester, Upstate New York Multiple Sclerosis, the Rochester Rotary Club and numerous other organizations.

In 1995, he received the President of RIT's Award for Excellence and the Roger Robach Award for his work on the Vietnam Memorial.

A Rochester native, Culhane was elected into the Gates Chili High School Hall of Fame in 1997. He has been a judge in the Saint Patrick's Day Parade since 1998.

In 2001, he was elected to The Rochester Rotary Charitable Trust Board of Directors and The Executive Committee of the Al Sigl Board and was named the Multiple Sclerosis "Angel" of the year.

Culhane received the second Four Presidents Distinguished Public Service Award in 2004. Created by Alfred Davis, vice president emeritus, the award’s purpose is to recognize a current member of the faculty or staff who, through public service, mirrors the lives of the four presidents who have been outstanding professionals and caring members of the community.

Among other duties, Culhane chairs Imagine RIT: Innovation and Creativity Festival.

Bob Finnerty is RIT’s Chief Communications Officer. He joined RIT in 2002 and is responsible for enhancing the university’s internal and external communications while overseeing University News Services.

Finnerty advises the RIT president and administrative team in the areas of public relations, media relations, publications, advertising, branding, marketing communications, social media and crisis communications. He also supervises RIT Sports Information.

Prior to RIT, Finnerty worked at the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle for 12 years, serving as a reporter and an editor. While serving as metro editor, the Democrat and Chronicle won four consecutive “Best of Gannett” awards and was named the Associated Press “Newspaper of Distinction” for New York state.

Finnerty is a graduate of Purdue University and also earned a master’s degree at RIT in multidisciplinary studies, where he focused on marketing as well as communication and media technologies.

Jeremy Haefner was appointed Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost at RIT in 2008.

Before joining RIT, Dr. Haefner served in a number of administrative roles at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs including concurrent appointments as vice chancellor for research and innovation, dean of the Graduate School, Dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science, director of the Colorado Institute for Technology Transfer and Implementation. He also was chair of the mathematics department, director of the campus-wide Teaching and Learning Center, faculty associate for information technology and faculty associate for teaching and learning, and professor of mathematics at UCCS.

He joined the faculty at the University of Colorado in 1989 after spending three years at the University of Tennessee Knoxville.

Throughout his administrative career, Dr Haefner has exemplified a commitment to research, community service and learner-centric pedagogies. He maintains a passion for innovation and creativity along with a desire to effect positive change.

Dr. Haefners research expertise includes the mathematics of integral representation, module and matrix theory; he has published widely and has been externally supported by a number of funding agencies. Dr. Haefner has been recognized with a National Security Agency Young Investigator Award, a research fellowship from the Universidad de Murcia in Spain, and numerous research contracts with the National Security Agency, the University of Colorado and the University of Tennessee. Dr. Haefner was principal investigator for a $4.6 million grant from the Air Force Office of Sponsored Research that supports homeland security and space education, as well as the principal investigator for a $2.7 million grant from the Air Force Office of Sponsored Research supporting science and engineering education to build the next generation of engineers and scientists.

Dr. Haefner maintains a strong interest in active learning and technology-enhanced instruction as learner-centric pedagogies. He developed the program in Applications in Technology for Mathematics Education in 1995, which provides technology training to students interested in careers in mathematics education. He also has co-developed the MathOnline program and the system-wide CU Online Tutoring program, which provides university-level mathematics courses and tutoring over the internet to high school students across the State of Colorado. In 1998, Dr. Haefner won the inaugural Innovations in Teaching with Technology award from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and the inaugural University of Colorado President's Faculty Excellence Award for Advancing Teaching and Learning through Technology. The CU System has recognized him for his collaborative contributions to using technology in education.

Dr. Haefner was an American Council on Education Fellow in 2006-2007 and spent his fellowship year under the mentorship of President John C. Cavanaugh at the University of West Florida.

Dr. Haefner enjoys gaming with his family and is an active competitor in sprint triathlons.

Keith Jenkins has been appointed vice president and associate provost for Diversity and Inclusion at the university. Professor Jenkins previously served as Director of Undergraduate Programs in RIT’s College of Liberal Arts. Jenkins, who came to RIT in 1992, has been recognized with numerous awards in both teaching and diversity initiatives. He was given the 2010 Eisenhart Award, given for outstanding teaching, and the 2004 RIT Diversity Trailblazer Award, and in 2005 he was the recipient of RIT’s Isaac L. Jordan Pluralism Award for his commitment to diversity on and off campus. His research work focuses on intercultural communication, political and visual rhetoric, and most recently includes a study of the impact of race on rhetoric and an analysis of the public speeches of President Barack Obama. Plans for a national search for a permanent diversity officer are pending.

Sandra “Sandy” Johnson became RIT’s senior vice president for student affairs on July 1, 2014.

Johnson oversees a $25 million annual budget and a staff of more than 200 people in the university’s Student Life, Wellness, Student Learning and Athletics departments. The office serves students in RIT’s nine colleges, a diverse population of more than 15,000 undergraduates and 2,900 graduate students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries, including more than 1,300 deaf and hard-of-hearing students at its National Technical Institute for the Deaf.

Prior to RIT, Johnson served for nearly eight years as vice president for the Division of Student Affairs at Hofstra University. Her previous work experience also includes an eight-year stint as associate dean in the Division of Student Affairs at Columbia U niversity and eight years as associate dean in the Office of Student Life at Barnard College. She holds a Doctorate of Education from the University of Pennsylvania, as well as a Master of Education from Columbia’s Teachers College and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from State University of New York, College at Oswego.

For more on Johnson, visit http://www.rit.edu/news/athenaeum_story.php?id=50672

Dr. Katherine Mayberry has been RIT’s vice president for Strategic Planning and Special Initiatives at RIT since 2011. Previously, she held the positions of vice president for Special Projects and vice president for Academic Affairs.

In her current role, Kit oversees the development, implementation, and ongoing review of RIT’s strategic planning process. In this capacity, she works closely with the Strategic Plan Committee of the trustees. She also designs and manages a partnership between RIT and a city charter high school made possible by a generous trustee gift. She co-chairs the President’s Commission on Women and is an active member of the Executive Advisory Board of RIT’s NSF ADVANCE Grant. As co-PI of RIT’s Ronald McNair grant, Dr. Mayberry serves on the grant advisory board and works closely with the McNair students.

A full professor in RIT’s department of English, Kit is a leading national scholar in rhetorical argument, the fiction of Toni Morrison, and Pre-Raphaelite poetry. She holds a Ph.D. in English and American Literature from the University of Rochester and a bachelor’s degree from Smith College.

Her community service contributions include membership on the executive committee of the board of trustees of Colgate Rochester Crozier Divinity School and two terms on the board of Mercy School for Young Women.

As senior vice president for Enrollment Management and Career Services, the financing of higher education is a major interest and requirement for Jim Miller. He spends a tremendous amount of time planning for the future of RIT. Recruiting students, assisting them in their education experience and helping them get their start after graduation are just some of the jobs he approaches every day with fervor.

Miller holds an undergraduate degree from Pennsylvania State University, a graduate degree from Syracuse University, and earned a Ph.D. in higher education at Syracuse. He has been in the fields of college admission, financial aid and enrollment management since 1968, coming to RIT in 1979 after more than 10 years at Eisenhower College.

Miller is active with RIT committees, including the Strategic Planning Committee and the Board of Trustees Strategic Planning Committee. His community service roles include president of the Executive Council of American College Testing in New York, advisory committee member of the Office of Adult Learning Services of the College Board, and RIT representative to the College Board.

Dr. Daniel B. Ornt was named the first Vice President and Dean of the Institute of Health Sciences and Technology at RIT in 2011.

Ornt previously served as  the Vice Dean for Education and Academic Affairs at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland. He has a combined 30 years of experience in medical education programs at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.

As vice president/dean of the Institute of Health Sciences and Technology, Ornt will head the institute’s three components: RIT’s ninth college, the College of Health Sciences and Technology, the Health Sciences Research Center and the Health Sciences Outreach Center. He will facilitate interactions with colleagues and CEOs at other institutions. 

The Institute of Health Sciences and Technology grew from the RIT and Rochester General Health System Alliance. For more information about the RIT-RGHS Alliance, go to www.rit.edu/rghs.

Ryne Raffaelle was appointed vice president for research and associate provost at RIT in 2011. He was formerly the director of the National Center for Photovoltaics at the National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden, Colo., the federal government’s central research organization for solar energy development. Raffaelle returns to RIT after serving in a number of different capacities from 2000 to 2009. His many assignments at RIT included an appointment as the first academic director of the Golisano Institute for Sustainability. He also served as the director of the NanoPower Research Lab at RIT. At the National Renewable Energy Lab in Colorado, Raffaelle provided technical vision, strategic leadership, asset stewardship and personnel management for the center. He worked on developing and enhancing technical capabilities relevant to advancing solar energy technologies while delivering world-class quality research and development, testing and validation.

Deborah Stendardi has served RIT since 1979, originally joining RIT as director of Government and Community Affairs. Since, she has been promoted to interim vice president, associate vice president and now vice president.

Prior to joining RIT, she served in a variety of positions for six years with the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities in Albany.

In addition to her RIT responsibilities, Stendardi is very active in the Rochester community, serving in a number of volunteer and leadership roles for the United Way, Greater Rochester Metro Chamber of Commerce and other organizations. She received the Miller Award given by United Way to the outstanding campaign coordinator of the year in 1996.

Stendardi holds a bachelor's degree from the State University of New York at Cortland and a master's from SUNY Albany.

John K. Trierweiler was named RIT’s first Chief Marketing Officer in 2016 after a nationwide search.

Trierweiler, who has more than 30 years of experience in marketing and advertising, is responsible for creating and implementing an integrated marketing and branding strategy for the university. He also oversees several communications and marketing departments, including University News Services, Production Services, and University Publications.

Prior to joining RIT, Trierweiler served as chief marketing officer for the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Under his tenure, the school was able to increase its worldwide rankings, and development fundraising efforts and applications both increased significantly. Before working in higher education, he held executive marketing positions at companies including Cablevision Systems, Time Warner Cable, Bumble Bee Seafoods Co., and H.J. Heinz.

Trierweiler is a graduate of Michigan State University and holds an MBA from the University of Michigan.

Lee Twyman is the Ombudsperson in the RIT Ombuds Office. She has served as a faculty member, administrator and counselor at RIT for 30 years. For the past four years, she has been the RIT Ombudsperson, providing confidential and independent conflict management and resolution services for members of the RIT community.

Twyman earned her undergraduate degree in audiology and speech pathology from Indiana University and her M.A. in counseling from Northern Illinois University. She also completed a post-graduate program in marriage and family therapy from the University of Rochester and has trained as a mediator and personal coach. She is a licensed family and marriage therapist in New York State and maintained a private practice at the University of Rochester Medical Center, where she provided individual, family and couples therapy to deaf and hearing people for a number of years.

James Watters joined the RIT team in 1994 as budget director.  He is now the senior vice president of finance and administration and treasurer.  At RIT, he oversees the activity of over 700 full-time employees.  He is responsible for administering the university’s annual $600 million operating and capital budgets, $800 million endowment and working capital portfolios, and $140 million public debt portfolio.  Jim is responsible for auxiliary enterprises; human resources; accounting/payroll; insurance; public safety; audit; legal; information technology and security; and facilities operations, design, and construction.

Jim is vice chair of RIT’s Global Delivery Corporation and treasurer of RIT’s High Technology Incubator and the American College of Management and Technology in Croatia.  Jim serves on a several non-profit and for-profit boards, including the George Eastman House, Greater Rochester Health Foundation, New York Wine and Culinary Center, Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, Broadstone Real Estate, Excell Partners, and Oracle. 

He came to RIT from the University of Pittsburgh, where he spent his entire academic and previous professional years and earned a BS, MS, and Ph.D.  During his 16 years at the University of Pittsburgh, Watters held the positions of assistant chancellor of real estate and management, assistant vice president of business and finance, captive insurance consultant, and assistant director for administration in the public safety division.