The division of Enrollment Management & Student Success (EMSS) undertook significant reorganization work this summer, intended to create clearer reporting structures and eliminate redundancies, making work load more manageable for employees. This is especially important in light of recent budget reductions, and much of this reorganization came from the elimination of a leadership position after the departure of our executive director of student engagement and enterprise services in the spring semester. By expanding on collaborative partnerships and finding creative solutions for workflow and funding, the EMSS leadership team has been able to add support in areas that need it, with a focus on enhancing the student experience.

We want to take time at the start of the semester to share some of the significant changes with our campus colleagues, in the interest of transparency and facilitating ease of partnership across university divisions.

Career Development – J.d. Garza continues serving as Interim Director of Career Development, and began reporting directly to the VP for EMSS July 1 as part of this reorganization. He and his team will focus on building out enhanced career services for students as imagined by the polytechnic transformation, and will collaborate with EMSS colleagues to leverage career preparation and placement outcomes as part of the recruitment and retention work of campus. A search for a permanent director will launch later this fall.

Dean of Students – The Dean of Students area (Student Rights & Responsibilities, Basic Needs, and Campus Assistance, Response & Engagement) will merge with Student Access Services (Testing Center, Veterans Enrollment & Transition Services), which was already part of Student Success, to streamline processes for staff and make better use of resources. Increased focus will be placed in the coming year on the Cultural Centers for Academic Excellence and other services that are known to have significant positive impact on student retention and success.

Housing & Residence Life – Donyet King will assume full responsibility for Housing & Residence Life, with a focus on programming, staffing, and the student experience (e.g. expansion of housing work with PBLCs, build-out of a Second Year residential experience). Jamie Tripp-Carter will take on more of a leadership role within Housing operations as Todd Larsen shifts his focus to Enterprise Services.

Enterprise Services – Todd Larsen will head a newly-formed unit that oversees external vendor contract relationships and service delivery, EMSS building and housing projects, and long-term financial strategy with an emphasis on self-support operations and revenue generation as pertains to Housing, Dining, Campus Stores, Children’s Center, and others as assigned, including new oversight of the Gutswurrak Student Activities Center.

Gutswurrak Student Activities Center – This area, which includes Gutswurrak Student Activities Center (GSAC), Conference & Event Services (CES) and the newly renamed Cal Poly Humboldt Presents (formerly CenterArts), will shift from under the Dean of Students to Enterprise Services, allowing for better alignment of department functions as well as strategic partnerships in staffing and funding for self-support operations, building projects and campus-wide services. However, the Dean of Students will continue to provide vision for student programming and work through GSAC for implementation of some of those programs. Staffing for GSAC, CES, and Cal Poly Humboldt Presents will be enhanced by a series of funding and position changes and additions. New and retooled positions will be posted with the goal of having them filled by January 1. Wendy Sotomayer will continue to head these units, now reporting through Todd Larsen.

In addition to these organizational changes, we are proud to announce that we have permanently filled several prominent leadership positions within EMSS.

• Heather Honig, our new Associate Dean of Students, re-joined the Cal Poly Humboldt community just this week, on Aug. 26. She is a Humboldt alum, who graduated with her B.A. in Liberal Studies from Humboldt, before going on to earn her master’s. She spent 24 years in the rural and urban settings of Southern California and Nevada as a K-12 educator, learning strategist, and school administrator, which will serve her well in this new role.

• Aolany Navas, who has worked as the interim Director of Admissions since last December, was recently selected after a competitive national search as our permanent Director of Admissions at Cal Poly Humboldt. She came to us from Colorado State University Pueblo, where she served in multiple enrollment management roles related to admissions and advising. Her broad experience in higher education, excellent leadership skills and dedication to her team and to Cal Poly Humboldt’s enrollment goals have proven her to be an excellent choice for the permanent position. 

• Rama Rawal, who has served in an interim capacity for a year and a half, accepted the permanent position of Director of the Educational Opportunity Program, Student Support Services, and TRIO programs, effective July 1. Her knowledge of and dedication to the programs, kind and effective leadership, and experience in grant-writing, make her an excellent permanent leader of the department.

• Chris Guillén has officially joined our team in the Records & Registration area as the new Associate Director for Articulation and Evaluations, effective May 1. Chris brings a wealth of experience in key enrollment management areas like records, financial aid, extension (former Registrar of the College of Extended Education & Global Engagement), student services (former Transfer & Graduation Counselor in the Registrar's Office), systems analyst in Financial Aid, and more. In this new role, Chris leads areas related to evaluations/admissions eligibility and serves as the Campus Articulation Officer, as well as working on related student services and systems (workshops, degree audit, planner, new student registration activities).

EMSS looks forward to continuing our work across campus and within the community to attract, enroll, and retain students, supporting them through their educational journey until graduation.