Staff Profiles
Richard Beatty
Senior Associate Provost for Enrollment Management
Rich Beatty leads Stony Brook’s Division of Enrollment Management as Senior Associate Provost. He was appointed as Stony Brook University’s Senior Associate Provost in January 2024, a role he held on an interim basis since September 2023.
As Senior Associate Provost and Chief Enrollment Officer on campus, Beatty has overall responsibility for several departments including Undergraduate Admissions, Financial Aid, Registrar, Enrollment Communications and acts as the Chief Enrollment Officer.
Beatty works to strengthen Stony Brook’s overall enrollment success through coordinated pipelines, increased national and international recruitment efforts, coordinated communication and outreach plans, financial aid and scholarship leveraging, and strengthened relations with internal and external partners.
Previously, Beatty was the Associate Provost for Enrollment Management at Stony Brook. He has also held a number of roles in admissions and enrollment at Farmingdale State College - SUNY, Long Island University, and Felician University. Prior to joining higher education, Beatty worked in politics and on campaigns.
Beatty earned his BA in History and Government from Lafayette College and MS in Higher Education Administration from Drexel University.
Diane Bello
University Registrar
Diane Bello serves as the University Registrar at Stony Brook University, where she has built a distinguished 35+-year career dedicated to academic policy, student success, and institutional improvement. A two-time Stony Brook graduate, Diane earned both her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from the University and began her career in 1988 in the Department of History before advancing through several leadership roles in the Office of the Registrar.
Diane is deeply engaged in academic governance and university service. She has served on key committees including the Academic Planning and Resource Allocation Committee (CAPRA), the Arts & Sciences Senate, the Academic Standing and Appeals Committee (CASA), the Undergraduate Council, the Data Governance Council—where she is served as Co-Chair—and the Professional Employees Governance Board – just to name a few. She has also held roles on the Graduate Council and the School of Professional Development Advisory and Curriculum Committees. She also service for several years in various positions in United University Professionals (UUP).
At the state, regional, and national levels, Diane is an active leader within multiple professional associations. She is the current President-Elect of MSACROA and previously served as its Vice President for Professional Development, as well as on its Nominations, Elections, and Conference Activities Committees. Diane has served on the Executive Board of the SUNY Registrars Association (SUNYRA), including terms as Treasurer and Vice President for Region IV. She is also a long-standing member and leader for AACRAO, where she contributed to the Transfer Committee and the Transcript Fee Project. She continues to support both university and industry-wide initiatives.
Diane’s work is guided by a commitment to collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement in higher education. She has received recognition for her contributions, including the Distinguished Service Award from the Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Retention Management. Her ongoing professional goals center on advancing policy, improving student systems, and fostering communication and partnerships that support student mobility and academic success.
Lori Carron
Director, Financial Management and Administrative Services
Lori Carron joined Stony Brook in 2009 in the Graduate School where she has served the last eight years as the school's Senior Assistant Dean of Finance & Administration. While in this position, Lori was responsible for the school's accounting, financial and budget management, human resources and event planning. In addition to leading the school to leverage tight resources to provide the best possible support and programs for graduate students, staff and faculty, she worked on many projects that benefited the graduate community. During her tenure at the Grad School she also served in the School of Professional Development, creating operational efficiencies, process improvements and creating financial best practices for the school. Perhaps what Lori enjoyed most at her time at the Grad School was helping to coordinate the annual May Doctoral Hooding & Grad Award ceremonies- where she was able to witness and be a part of the celebration of some of Stony Brook's brightest and accomplished graduate students. Prior to becoming a higher education administrator, she held various business manager positions at the financial services firm UBS.
Lori received a Bachelor of Science degree at SUNY Albany in Business Administration with a finance concentration. Many years later, while working full time at Stony Brook, Lori received her Masters of Arts in Higher Education Administration from Stony Brook. She was the recipient of the 2016 Dr. Deborah C. Hecht Award for her thesis paper; “Historical Economic Events Transforming Universities in the U.S.: The Impact of War and Recessions on Higher Education Reform”.
Mark A. Cortez
Executive Director of Admissions
Mark A. Cortez joined Stony Brook University in May 2023. In his role he oversees Undergraduate Admissions, inclusive of international, transfer, and domestic recruitment in addition to campus visits and experiences, application review and academic partnerships, enrollment communications, and admissions operations and systems.
Prior to Stony Brook, Cortez was at The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH where he served as the Director of Outreach and Recruitment, Undergraduate Admissions. In his time at Ohio State, he enhanced the organization through work with marketing and recruitment, policy, planning, and compliance, staff supervision and development, and assessment and benchmarking across domestic, international and transfer admission, and visit programs. Collectively, his efforts contributed to consistent application and yield growth that reflected university values and goals.
He has served numerous local, state, and national organizations. He is a past member of the Strengthening Ohio’s High School Math Pathways Advisory Council, a state-wide representative group of stakeholders focused on equity, communication, and support surrounding the systems and structures that are needed to implement new math courses in Ohio high schools. He has also served as a member of the National Association for College Admissions Counseling Rural and Small-Towns Ad Hoc Committee, is a current member of the NACAC Admission Practices Committee, a past member of College Board’s Preparate Advisory Committee and current College Board Forum Committee member. He is a past member of the Coalition for College Ad hoc Committee on Public Universities, SCOIR Council, and Ohio Association for College Admissions Counseling Government Relations Chair. He has presented and been a panelist at numerous local, state, and national programs and conferences across a variety of admission and education topics.
Prior to his last role at Ohio State, Cortez served as the director for articulation and transfer policy with the Ohio Department of Higher Education. Starting his career with Ohio State at their Lima campus in admissions, he later served the university across multiple areas of admission. He earned his bachelor’s degree in communication from Ohio State and his master’s degree in higher education administration from Tiffin University.
Mark can be reached at mark.cortez@stonybrook.edu and is assisted by Lauren Giunta, lauren.giunta@stonybrook.edu.
Heather Lynch
Assistant to the Senior Associate Provost
Heather Lynch joined Stony Brook in 2013 as the Assistant to the Associate Dean for Scientific Affairs. In 2014, she took on a new role as the Assistant to the Chair in the Department of Biomedical Informatics (BMI). The department was new to Stony Brook and it was here where Heather learned the many facets of creating a new graduate program, while assisting the Chair and Administrator with day to day operations including duties related to HR, Procurement, Facility Management and Finance. Organizing BMI’s Inaugural Student Orientation event was most satisfying to Heather as she was able to join faculty and staff as they welcomed their first class of students. Most recently, Heather has joined Enrollment Retention Management as the Executive Assistant to the Associate Provost and is excited for the opportunity to be immersed in environment that fosters student success.
Prior to joining Stony Brook, she was a paralegal in the mortgage banking industry for 12 years, as well a dedicated elementary school teacher for 6 years in the private sector and while she does miss that environment, she is thrilled that her career path has led her to higher education. Her professional experience is unique and has contributed to her enthusiasm and passion for education and assisting others as a vital team member.
Heather obtained a Paralegal Certificate from Long Island University in 1991 and later in 2006 returned to Dowling College where she received a Bachelors in English and a Master’s degree in Childhood education.
Nicholas Prewett, Ed.D.
Assistant Provost and Executive Director of Financial Aid and Scholarship Services
Nick Prewett, Ed.D., joined Stony Brook in 2020 as director of financial aid and scholarship services. An advocate of access and affordability in higher education, Nick brings nearly 20 years of financial aid experience at AAU institutions to Stony Brook. Prior to joining Stony Brook, Nick was the executive director of the University of Missouri.
Nick has served multiple roles in the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), once as a nationally elected representative at large and once through his role as President of the Midwest Association of Financial Aid Administrators. He holds all NASFAA credentials including consumer information, cost of attendance, direct loans, federal Pell Grant, gainful employment and return of Title IV funds. In 2019, Nick became a Certified Financial Aid Administrator.
A native of Missouri, Nick received his Bachelor’s in Political Science and History from Missouri Southern State College and a Master’s in Political Science and Doctor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Kansas.
Michael Riordan
Director of Enrollment Research
Raised in Queens, NY, Michael holds a Bachelor’s degree from New York University and an MBA from St. John’s University. Michael has 20 years of market research experience in market research in the corporate and higher education sectors. In his role at Stony Brook, Michael researches enrollment trends and analyzes data to enable the University to make fact-based decisions related to admissions and recruitment activity.