Memos
Memoranda will provide information of official and divisional importance.
M E M O R A N D U M
TO: The Campus Community
FROM: Melissa Vito, Vice President for Student Affairs
SUBJECT: New Organizational Structure
DATE: December 2007
It’s been just over a year since our first retreat where we began the process of defining a new vision for Student Affairs. Since then we’ve had an ongoing conversation, to which many of you have contributed. We’ve spent time in self assessment and reflection and reviewed the broad national landscape of Student Affairs divisions. Also during the last year, University reorganization has created unexpected opportunities for units which have long been our partners to become part of our Student Affairs team.
These months have been productive, and I want to thank all of you for your invaluable input, time and patience. With this in mind, I’m excited to share with you an evolution in the structure of Student Affairs. This new organizational structure reflects our goals to prioritize student success, capitalizes on our talent and strengths, and positions us to become a world class division.
Student Affairs will be comprised of five distinct functional and thematic areas that will define our divisional priorities as we move forward. They are: Student Living, Health and Wellness; Outreach and Development; Student Engagement and Success; the Dean of Students; and Organizational Advancement and University Partnerships.
Student Living, Health & Wellness will be headed by newly appointed Associate Vice President Dan Adams. It will combine the Student Unions, Campus Health, and Residence Life. This unique combination of student services will lead the division in creating an environment of "wellness" focused on the physical, intellectual, and emotional health of our students. In order for our students to succeed, they must integrate healthy habits as a part of their daily lives.
Outreach and Development will be coordinated by Director Lisa Lovallo. The OAD will create relationships between Student Affairs units and external partners who are interested in helping advance the mission of the division and the University and includes the UA BookStores and Early Academic Outreach. The OAD team provides professional business consulting, strategic planning services, identifies and secures financial resources, hires, manages and trains development officers, conducts public and private sector community outreach and is the divisional liaison to the UA Foundation. Frank Farias will work to explore new business opportunities for the division appropriate to our diverse departmental opportunities.
Student Success and Retention will be headed by Assistant Vice President Lynne Tronsdal. This office incorporates Academic Support for Student Athletes (CATS), the University Learning Center, New Student Programs, and Career Services.
This office will be an incubator for innovation where roadblocks to student success are defined, pilot remedies are tried and assessed, and the resulting programs are institutionalized into the areas where they can have the greatest impact. The initial divisional priority will be to collect and analyze data from the departments in Student Affairs relative to student success and retention, leading to more coordinated efforts and strong institutional recognition of Student Affairs’ contribution to student retention.
Organizational Advancement and University Partnerships will be headed by Assistant Vice President Lynette Cook Francis. This area will focus on developing educational partnerships and structures that support collaboration between Student Affairs units, faculty and academic administrators, and includes the Disability Resource and SALT Centers. Lynette will also operate as the primary person in my office responsible for advancing our organizational priorities through strategic planning and is the main point of response for initiatives stemming from the Provost’s and President’s offices.
The Dean of Students Office and Student Life will be headed by Carol Thompson, who has transitioned from her interim assignments to an appointment as Assistant Vice President and Dean of Students. This area will provide an engaging student experience that values community, civility, integrity, diversity, and self-responsibility and supports students. Reporting areas include ROTC, Arizona Student Media, Parents & Family Association, LGBTQ Affairs, and Multicultural Programs and Services.
Critical to our success is our ability to communicate our vision to a variety of constituencies both on and off campus. To that end, I am pleased to tell you that Nick Adamakis and Magan Alfred will be working together to advance Student Affairs Communications and Marketing initiatives.
Finally, I want to thank Dan and Carol for accepting their new administrative roles. Along with their day-to-day responsibilities of leading the areas of Student Living, Health & Wellness and the Dean of Students office respectively, they will carry out additional administrative assignments on behalf of the division. Their leadership will be critical to our success as we move forward.
I’m excited about the opportunities this structure brings to the division, and welcome feedback as we begin new collaborations and partnerships. Our staff is without equal in excellence, especially where it matters most: in their dedication and devotion to UA students and their families!
