President Don Hudspeth Announces Retirement; Associate Dean Irena Guszak to Take Over on July 1, 2023

January 31, 2023 

After successfully leading RIT Croatia for 25 years, President and Dean Don Hudspeth has announced his retirement. President Hudspeth was one of the key people responsible for the establishment, development and growth of RIT Croatia, formerly known as the American College of Management and Technology (ACMT). 

Although Dean Hudspeth spent majority of his career in education, his areas of expertise include banking and FMCG, which he acquired significant experience in, prior to joining RIT. Under his leadership, the first global campus of RIT grew from its location in Dubrovnik to an additional campus in Zagreb, Croatia. Furthermore, the program portfolio expanded from one undergraduate program to four, and two graduate programs. The college also attained  Croatian research institute status under his tenure. 

"Since I spent a quarter of a century with RIT in Croatia, needless to say, leading such an amazing organization was so much more than a job for me. RIT Croatia has consistently been growing as a high quality education institution, but more importantly, as a community of people who are passionate about learning, and making their contribution to the world around them”, says President Hudspeth. "Not only are we the pioneers of private higher education in Croatia, but since our beginning in 1997, we have successfully overcome many challenges associated with the education market in this country. It could have not been accomplished  without the great teamwork of all of our employees, students and alumni, whom I am  immensely proud of and grateful to!”

Effective July 1st, 2023, President Hudspeth will hand over the reins to current associate dean, dr. sc. Irena Guszak, who is appointed as Interim President and Dean for the 2023/2024 academic year, with the goal of fully assuming the position in the 2024/2025 academic year.

"The quality of Irena’s work, her enthusiasm and engagement, as well as her readiness to take on new initiatives, are the reasons why she was chosen for the position of associate dean. Her contribution to our development over the past 5 years has been crucial: from leading our academics, consistently raising overall quality standards, acquiring research institute status, and introducing a new, fully multidisciplinary program. We are very fortunate to have such an individual with us, and RIT Croatia will remain in great hands” said Dean Hudspeth.

Dr. sc. Guszak started her career in the ICT industry, with expertise in marketing and sales consultancy. Even though she focused her career in business, her love for learning, education and sharing knowledge prevailed, and in 2006 she decided to focus solely on education. Her past experiences include working at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics and Business, as a teaching and research assistance, graduate program administrator, and the life-long-learning program designer, coordinator and instructor. She joined RIT Croatia in 2013, as a marketing faculty member, and assumed the position of the college’s associate dean in 2017. As a marketing scholar, she published a number of journal papers and conference publications in the area of retail, consumer behavior and food deserts. She serves as a member to the Croatian Agency for Science and Higher Education Accrediting Council’s Appeal Committee. 

"I am both very excited and honored for the opportunity and the trust that has been given to me. I would like to thank Dean Hudspeth for all of his contributions and impact that he has had on RIT Croatia. Aside from his role in driving the business, I will always appreciate his mindfulness for the importance of relationships with all of our stakeholders. I remain committed to our organization’s mission to deliver future-ready education and research excellence, as well as to consistently build the quality of working and studying experience at RIT Croatia, together with all of our exceptional and dedicated faculty and staff”, said dr. sc. Guszak.