Lori Ciccomascolo has been named vice president for strategic initiatives and chief of staff at William Paterson University, taking over a role that will put her in charge of the school’s Strategic Plan 2026-31, new external partnerships, and day-to-day operations for the Office of the President and Board of Trustees.
She arrives from Springfield College in Massachusetts, where she most recently served as provost and vice president for academic affairs — but she isn’t new to the school.
Ciccomascolo spent the 2022-23 academic year at William Paterson as an American Council on Education Fellow, a program that embeds rising academic leaders with senior administrators at a host institution for a year of hands-on training.
William Paterson President Richard Helldobler cited that history in announcing the hire.
“William Paterson is delighted to welcome Dr. Ciccomascolo back to campus, where she previously completed a prestigious ACE Fellowship,” he said. “Her extensive experience in academic leadership, together with her familiarity with the university community, positions her well for success in pursuing strategic partnerships and managing key initiatives across the institution.”
Ciccomascolo said she was delighted to return.
“I first came to know this community four years ago as an ACE Fellow, and it’s a privilege to now call myself an official Pioneer,” she said.
Before Springfield, Ciccomascolo spent more than two decades at the University of Rhode Island in a string of academic leadership posts — associate vice president for student success from 2017-24, dean of URI’s Feinstein College of Education and Professional Studies from 2014-17, and interim dean of the College of Human Science and Services from 2012-16.
At Springfield, she led development of the college’s Academic Strategic Action Plan, co-led a pillar of its 2035 Strategic Plan, introduced new bachelor’s degrees in data science communications and creative media, and worked on a proposal for a three-year degree pathway through the national College-in-3 Exchange initiative.
Ciccomascolo sits on the boards of the ACE Council of Fellows and LGBTQ Leaders in Higher Education. She also is co-editor of two books on social justice in education and the discipline of physical and health education.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in corporate communication and a master’s in exercise science from Southern Connecticut State University, and an EdD in curriculum and teaching from Boston University.
