James Lentini D.M.A.

President
Molloy College

James Lentini, D.M.A., began his appointment as Molloy College’s seventh president in June 2020. Dr. Lentini’s strategic vision at Molloy includes expanding the institution’s considerable impact in metropolitan New York in health professions, business, and education, rooted in a liberal arts core with strengths in the arts and sciences.

Prior to his appointment at Molloy, Dr. Lentini served as Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost at Oakland University (Rochester, Michigan) from 2013-2020. As the university’s chief academic officer, he oversaw enrollment management and student success initiatives leading to record highs for enrollment, student retention, and graduation rates. For his accomplishments at Oakland University, Dr. Lentini was awarded the first-ever Presidential Medal of Excellence for exceptional leadership.

In addition to his administrative accomplishments, Dr. Lentini’s is an internationally recognized composer. He has received the Andrés Segovia International Composition Prize, the McHugh Composition Prize, a grant from “Meet the Composer,” a Hanson Institute grant, and multiple awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). Gramophone Magazine wrote that James Lentini is an “American classical music success story,” while calling his composition Scenes from Sedona “…perhaps the best piece for viola and cello since Beethoven’s ‘Eyeglasses’ Duet.” Reviewer Howard Reich of the Chicago Tribune named Dr. Lentini’s recording of large ensemble works entitled “Through Time and Place” one of the Best Classical Recordings of the Year for 2020.

Dr. Lentini was named to a list of “Power 25 in Education” by the Long Island Business News in 2020.