August 20, 2013

TO THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY

Dear Colleagues:

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Lisa Przekop as Director of Admissions for our campus.

This appointment follows a national search and the recommendation of our search advisory committee, co-chaired by Dr. Mary Nisbet, Dean of Undergraduate Education, and Dr. John Park, Chair of our Academic Senate Committee on Admissions, Enrollment, and Relations with Schools (CAERS). On behalf of our campus, I extend our sincere thanks to Dean Nisbet, Professor Park, and our search advisory committee members (listed below) for their devoted and diligent work. I also would like to thank Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Michael Young, Academic Senate Chair Kum-Kum Bhavnani, Executive Vice Chancellor Gene Lucas, and all of our colleagues who have been part of the selection and consultation process during this important search.

Ms. Przekop is a UC Santa Barbara alumna, with a bachelor's degree in developmental and experimental psychology and a master's degree in education. She has 28 years of experience in Admissions at UCSB, serving most recently as our Associate Director of School Services.

She has been dedicated to building our culturally diverse, high-achieving student body, and has worked tirelessly leading outreach programs for high school and community college students throughout California, the U.S., and internationally. Lisa has served on numerous educational committees and boards, including the UCSB Alumni Association Board of Directors, the California Student Opportunity and Access Program Board of Directors, and the Student Aid Committee of the Santa Barbara Foundation; most recently, she joined the board of the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County.

Lisa is a recipient of the Margaret T. Getman Service to Students Award, and has been recognized as Greek Advisor of the Year for her work with the Zeta Chapter of Lambda Sigma Gamma Sorority, Incorporated, a multicultural sorority at UCSB where she served as an advisor for more than 20 years. In 2008 Lisa founded our Guardian Scholars Program, which supports the needs of former foster youth enrolled at UCSB, and she continues to serve as the program's advisor. The Santa Barbara Independent has honored Lisa as a "Local Hero" for her work with Santa Barbara youth.

We appreciate Lisa's leadership and her longstanding devotion to our university. Please join me in congratulating and welcoming her in this new position.

I would also like to take this opportunity to again extend our sincere thanks to Ms. Christine Van Gieson for her exceptional tenure as our former Admissions Director, and for her four decades of dedicated service to UC. We wish her the best in all that lies ahead.

Sincerely,

Henry T. Yang
Chancellor

 

Search Advisory Committee for Director of Admissions

Mary Nisbet, Co-Chair; Dean of Undergraduate Education, College of Letters and Science; Senior Lecturer, Economics
John S.W. Park, Co-Chair; Chair, Academic Senate Committee on Admissions, Enrollment, and Relations with Schools (CAERS); Chair and Professor, Asian American Studies

Sophia Armen, Past President, Associated Students
Glenn Beltz, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies, College of Engineering; Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Rolf Christoffersen, Associate Professor, Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Anna Everett, Professor, Film and Media Studies
Janis Ingham, Professor, Speech and Hearing Sciences; NCAA Faculty Academic Representative
Mary Jacob, Senior Associate Dean, Enrollment & Student Academic Support Services
Gabriela Soto Laveaga, Associate Professor, History
Lupe Navarro-Garcia, Associate Dean, Student Academic Support Services; Director, Educational Opportunity Program
Bruce Tiffney, Dean, College of Creative Studies; Professor, Earth Science
Petra Van Koppen, Senior Lecturer, Chemistry and Biochemistry

Consultants to the Committee:
Ricardo AlcaĆ­no, Director and Title IX Officer, Office of Equal Opportunity & Sexual Harassment/Title IX Compliance
Steven Velasco, Director, Institutional Research and Planning