Meet the President's Executive Council

Rita Colucci, Vice President and General Counsel
Rita Colucci, Esq., joined Salem State in December 2017, as the university’s general counsel. In her role, she also oversees human resources and equal opportunity, and information technology services. Her 10 years of experience in public higher education include roles as general counsel, chief of staff and board secretary, while also overseeing marketing and communications, public safety and human resources. Prior to joining the world of higher education, Colucci worked as a labor attorney and human resources director for several state agencies. Colucci holds a JD from New England/Boston and bachelor's of science in political science from Southern Connecticut State University.

Bonnie Galinski, Vice President of Student Success
Bonnie Galinski has been at Salem State since 2010 and is committed to paving pathways for student success. Bonnie has worked in higher education for over 25 years, successfully leading teams in meeting enrollment and graduation goals at Salem State, Lesley University's Art Institute of Boston, Notre Dame College in New Hampshire, Newbury College and Boston University. She is a collaborative and strategic leader who is energized by the impact that education has on transforming individuals and communities. Bonnie received her education masters in policy, planning and administration from Boston University, her Bachelor of Arts in communication arts at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh and studied at Laval University in Quebec City, Canada. She chaired and serves on the Board of the ACE Women's Network of MA and co-leads the Women's Employee Resource Group at Salem State. 

Karen House, Vice President for Finance and Facilities
Karen House joined Salem State University in 2014 and is responsible for the development of the institution’s annual budget and the multi-year financial plan, including the allocation of fiscal resources in support of the university’s academic and administrative programs; and for overall fiscal accountability. She also oversees capital planning and facilities. A graduate of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA, she holds, in addition, a master’s degree in business administration and a graduate certificate from Plymouth State University in Plymouth, NH. House has extensive experience in the private sector as an accountant, internal auditor and management accountant. She began her career in academia at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, progressing to associate vice president for business affairs/comptroller before joining Keene State College in 2000.

Christopher Macdonald-Dennis joined the university in August of 2023. Macdonald-Dennis has decades of experience leading justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion work in higher education. He most recently served as senior advisor for institutional equity and belonging at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA), where he was previously chief diversity officer for four years and led the division of equity and inclusion. In addition to administrative experience, Macdonald-Dennis has an extensive research and scholarly agenda. He grew up in Revere and became the first person in his immediate family to attend college when he enrolled at Framingham State University, where he completed a bachelor’s degree in sociology. They went on to complete a Master of Science in College Student Development Counseling at Northeastern University, an EdD in Social Justice Education at the University of Massachusetts—Amherst, and a Master of Divinity from Lexington Theological Seminary.

COMING SOON 

David J. Silva, Provost and Academic Vice President
With over 15 years of administrative experience, Provost David Silva, PhD joined Salem State in March 2015. He has served in numerous capacities at the University of Texas at Arlington, including his role as founding department chair of the newly established department of linguistics. In 2007, he was appointed vice provost for academic affairs where he was responsible for a broad portfolio of academic initiatives, and then went on to become the university’s vice provost for faculty affairs. As a scholar of linguistics, Silva has an extensive research portfolio that focuses on phonetic variation and language change in Korean. He has also published and presented on issues germane to university-level teaching and assessment. His scholarly work has been funded by the Fulbright Program, the Korea Foundation, and the Academy of Korean Studies, among many others. Silva holds a bachelor of arts degree from Harvard University, a master of arts in linguistics degree and a doctor of philosophy degree in linguistics, both from Cornell University. His teaching career began at the University of Texas at Arlington, where he became a full professor of linguistics.