February 4, 2025
Dear Members of Our Campus Community,
I am pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Refugia “Cuca” Acosta as our next Executive Director of Admissions.
This appointment follows a national search and the recommendation of our search advisory committee, chaired by Professor Michael Gordon. On behalf of our campus, I extend our sincere appreciation to Professor Gordon and our search advisory committee members, listed below, for their diligent work. I would also like to thank our Academic Senate, administrative and staff colleagues, and all who have been part of the consultation process during this important search.
Ms. Acosta has been serving as our Interim Director of Admissions since July 2024. She is a UC Santa Barbara alumna, and has been a staff colleague in our Undergraduate Admissions Office since 2004, holding the positions of Associate Director of School Services, Assistant Director of High School Services, and Admissions Counselor. Her dedicated efforts to UC Santa Barbara over the past two decades have been instrumental in enhancing and supporting our academic mission. Cuca has built strong ties with our surrounding community, as well as with the California community college system and many high school districts in California. She has presented at national and international conferences, and has a deep understanding of the changing landscape of the student recruitment process and the role of technology in Admissions. She is passionate about supporting underserved populations and students facing challenges, helping them to access higher education and providing the resources they need to pursue their educational goals.
In addition to her admissions work, Cuca has served on the UC Santa Barbara Alumni Association Board of Directors, and on several boards and professional organizations supporting students, parents, and counselors. She co-chaired the search advisory committee for UC Santa Barbara’s first Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) director, and is co-chair of Strengthening Opportunities for Latinx (SOL), which serves Chicanx/Latinx faculty and staff. She serves as a staff representative on the Chicano Latino Advisory Committee (CLAC) to UC President Michael Drake, a systemwide committee addressing the concerns of Latinx faculty and staff in the UC system. She is also a member of the UCSB DEI Work Group and the UCSB Dream Scholar Resource Team/Undocumented Student Support Services, working with campus partners to promote HSI initiatives on campus.
We appreciate Cuca’s leadership and her longstanding devotion to our university. Please join me in congratulating her and welcoming her in this new position.
I would also like to take this opportunity to again extend our sincere thanks to Ms. Lisa Przekop for her outstanding tenure as our former Executive Director of Admissions, and for her nearly 40 years of dedicated service to UC Santa Barbara.
Sincerely,
Henry T. Yang
Chancellor
Search Advisory Committee for Executive Director of Admissions
Michael Gordon, Chair; Former Chair, Academic Senate Committee on Admissions, Enrollment, and Relations with Schools (CAERS); Professor and Chair, Chemical Engineering
Glenn Beltz, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies, College of Engineering; Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Julie Bianchini, Professor, Education
D. Inés Casillas, Professor, Chicana and Chicano Studies
Sathya Guruswamy, Teaching Professor of Physics, College of Creative Studies
Pei-te Lien, Professor, Political Science
John Longbrake, Vice Chancellor for External Relations
Mike Miller, Associate Vice Chancellor and Dean of Undergraduate Education, College of Letters & Science; Professor, Psychological and Brain Sciences
Greg Mitchell, Professor, Theater and Dance
Althea Wasow, Assistant Professor, Film and Media Studies
Erik Williams, Staff representative; Director, Office of International Students & Scholars
Vanessa Woods, Chair, Committee on Admissions, Enrollment, and Relations with Schools (CAERS); Teaching Professor, Psychological and Brain Sciences
TBD, Associated Students representative