Jeff Benck of Ladera Ranch, Calif., Named as RIT Distinguished Alumnus

2013 Mar 26

ROCHESTER, NY (03/26/2013)(readMedia)-- Jeff Benck of Ladera Ranch, Calif., is the recipient of a 2013 Rochester Institute of Technology Distinguished Alumni Award.

Benck, who graduated from RIT in 1988 with a degree in mechanical engineering, is the president and chief operating officer of Emulex Corp., where he guides the corporate strategy. He's on the board of the Discovery Science Center of Orange County, the University of California Irvine CEO Roundtable, and the UCI Paul Merage School of Business Dean's Advisory Board. At RIT, he is an active member of the Kate Gleason College of Engineering Dean's Advisory Council, and he has shared lessons learned with students as a featured KGCOE Dean's Alumni Speaker. He also served 18 years with IBM, where he became known for establishing IBM's blade server product line.

Each year, RIT's leaders select one graduate from each of the university's nine colleges who embodies the best of RIT. This year, nine distinguished alumni stand out among the more than 111,000 accomplished graduates for celebrating creativity and demonstrating a passionate performance in their profession. President Bill Destler and the leaders of RIT's colleges will present the Distinguished Alumni Awards on April 12. For more information, go to www.rit.edu/alumni/recognition.

PHOTO AVAILABLE: www.rit.edu/news/pics/DARice.jpg

About RIT

Rochester Institute of Technology is internationally recognized for academic leadership in business, computing, engineering, imaging science, liberal arts, sustainability and fine and applied arts. In addition, the university offers unparalleled support services for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. RIT enrolls nearly 18,000 full- and part-time students in more than 200 career-oriented and professional programs, and its cooperative education program is one of the oldest and largest in the nation.

For more than two decades, U.S. News & World Report has ranked RIT among the nation's leading comprehensive universities. RIT is featured in The Princeton Review's 2013 edition of The Best 377 Colleges, as well as its Guide to 322 Green Colleges. The Fiske Guide to Colleges 2013 names RIT as a "Best Buy," and the Chronicle of Higher Education recognizes RIT among the "Great Colleges to Work for 2012."

To see more of RIT's rankings and recognition, go to www.rit.edu/overview/rankings-and-recognition.

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