Alexis Piñero-Benson has been named the director of community standards at the University of New Hampshire, coming to UNH from SUNY Oswego, where he served as the director of student conduct since 2019, when the position was created.
“In many ways the pandemic forced us into unprecedented terrain and uncharted landscape. Opportunities abound in unforeseen places. It was clear to me from the beginning that the UNH campus community is all about the in-person, hands-on experience, even in this time of physical and social distance,” Piñero-Benson says. “I am incredibly excited to join the community in all its efforts to support student success.”
At SUNY Oswego, Piñero-Benson was responsible for leading and administering the college-wide conduct system and all related processes for academic and non-academic misconduct involving students and recognized student organizations. While there he served on the campus behavioral intervention team and campus admissions review committee, as well as several standing committees including the academic quality and integrity committee, advisory committee on alcohol and drugs, campus city relations committee and the ARTSwego oversight and programming committee.
Prior to Oswego, Piñero-Benson spent six years at Berklee College of Music and the Boston Conservatory, and previously held leadership roles at Barry University, Mitchell College, Brevard Music Center, Tanglewood Music Festival and the Bowdoin International Music Festival.
A native of Brooklyn, New York, afro-latino, first-generation college student and a former foster youth, Piñero-Benson holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees in voice performance and collaborative piano from Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, Virginia. A 2018 alum of the Susan Vogt Leadership Fellows Program, Piñero-Benson has also obtained certifications from ATIXA and the Gehring Academy.
A passionate advocate for marginalized populations and a lifelong ambassador for arts education with expertise in equity and inclusion, sex and gender-based misconduct and restorative justice, Piñero-Benson was nationally recognized by the Association of Student Conduct Administrators with the Individual Award of Excellence in February 2021, a peer-nominated award for individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of their campus and community, service to the profession and demonstrated their commitment to education and mentoring.
