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Hubert Benitez joins American International College as its 12th president

Hubert Benitez, the 12th president of American International College
AIC
Hubert Benitez, the 12th president of American International College

He's working on a blueprint for AIC's future as he sees higher education "at a crossroads"

American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts has welcomed a new president to campus.

Hubert Benitez was selected by the board of trustees to lead the 137-year-old small college.

Benitez is a dentist, who spent the last two decades as an administrator and academic in higher education. Before joining AIC, he was chief inclusion officer at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri.

WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill sat down for an interview with Benetiz in his office.

The discussion includes the challenge facing small colleges and the issue of student loan debt. Tuition at AIC is $40,550.

The record-setting tenure of Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno. The 2011 tornado and its recovery that remade the largest city in Western Massachusetts. The fallout from the deadly COVID outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers Home. Those are just a few of the thousands and thousands of stories WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill has covered for WAMC in his nearly 17 years with the station.