September 16, 2024

To:   Campus Community

Fr:    David Marshall, Executive Vice Chancellor
         Michael B. Miller, Associate Vice Chancellor of Undergraduate Education

Re:   Summer Session Director

We are pleased to announce that we are beginning the recruitment for a new Director of Summer Sessions. After Leesa Beck left this position to become Assistant Vice Chancellor of Academic Personnel last spring, Professor Norah Dunbar, former chair of the Department of Communication, graciously agreed to serve as Interim Director, effective June 1, 2024. We have now appointed a search advisory committee to oversee this important national recruitment. Nominations and applications for this staff position are welcome. Please see the posting on the Human Resources website for more information.

Summer Sessions serves a critical purpose on our campus, supporting more than 10,000 students a year to complete their degree requirements, and learn and grow through a variety of courses and programs. Programs such as Freshman Summer Start Program, Transfer Edge, and many others, have become key components of our student success initiatives. Enrollment in the summer also helps the campus fulfil its student FTE obligations.

We are grateful to Leesa Beck for her exceptional service as Director of Summer Sessions from November 2019 to April 2024, and to Norah Dunbar for her important stewardship during this transition. 

The search committee membership is listed below. Thank you.

Norah Dunbar, committee chair, Department of Communication
Nicole Albada, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
Daina Ramey Berry, Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts
Lisa Berry, Office of Teaching and Learning
Michelle Stransky, Assistant Dean, Undergraduate Education
Christian Villaseñor, Executive Vice Chancellor’s Office