Thomas R. Rochon became the eighth president of Ithaca College on July 1, 2008. He holds a doctorate and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Michigan, where he graduated with high distinction. Prior to his selection as the president of Ithaca College, Rochon served as executive vice president and chief academic officer of the University of St. Thomas, a master’s comprehensive university in Minnesota, where he oversaw the university's six schools and colleges and, with the chief administrative officer, shared responsibility for the $150 million university budget. He worked to develop the academic vision of each unit and to set strategic directions; reorganized academic programs to create the School of Engineering; and helped launch a capital campaign centered on endowment support of students and faculty. An engaged civic leader, Rochon championed a university effort to strengthen community service and partnership activities in Minneapolis-St. Paul, leading to Carnegie Foundation classification for community engagement. Along with his administrative responsibilities, he was a tenured professor in St. Thomas’s political science department.

Rochon has an extensive history of accomplishments as an educator and academic administrator. Before his position at St. Thomas, as executive director of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) program at the Educational Testing Service (ETS), Rochon was responsible for determining program policy under the oversight of the board and the ETS vice president for graduate and professional education. He guided the addition of analytical writing to the test, the first use of an essay in the GRE program; he also developed and implemented a program to empower universities to create their own test prep courses for graduate programs. He has held positions in the top leadership at prominent universities: dean of the School of Politics and Economics at Claremont Graduate University and assistant master of Dean Mathey College at Princeton University. He also held the post of assistant professor in the politics department at Princeton University for seven years.