SUBJECT:

Appointment of Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Retention and Success

I am delighted to announce that Dr. Maruth Figueroa will join UC San Diego as the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Retention and Success (AVC-SRS) on July 15, 2020. She has over fifteen years of experience in higher education and a doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership, Higher Education Administration from the University of Southern California. A first-generation college graduate, Dr. Figueroa is committed to collaborations and partnerships that put students first.

Currently serving as the Interim Associate Vice President-Retention, Academic Advising and Learning at CSU, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH), Dr. Figueroa is responsible for student retention and graduation, academic advising and support programs, peer coaching, first-year and transfer experience. Before stepping into her current role, she served as CSUDH's Director of the Toro Learning and Testing Center. During her tenure at CSUDH she has provided leadership and direction that has contributed to many accomplishments, including improved retention rates, improved six-year and four-year graduation rates, decreased degree deferrals, and decreased DFW rates for bottleneck courses, 13% for supported courses compared to 26%. All of this success was made possible through inter-divisional collaborations and inter-institutional partnerships.

Prior to joining the CSUDH's community, Dr. Figueroa directed Chicano Latino Student Services at Loyola Marymount University (LMU). In this role she supported the holistic development of Chicanx/Latinx students, provided leadership to programs that connected faculty to students in formal and informal spaces, and partnered with academic programs that supported First-Generation students. She worked closely with faculty and staff to educate the LMU campus on supporting undocumented students and helping to create access to resources and safe spaces.

Earlier in her career, at CSU, Fullerton, Dr. Figueroa integrated high-impact practices into the campus' first-year experience program and was also responsible for the coordination and integration of advising in all sections of UNIV 100: Foundations for College Success and Lifelong Learning; the Early Alert Prevention Program (EAPP); Orientación Familiar (Orientation in Spanish), and the development and execution of the student learning outcomes assessment for living-learning communities. Her research interests include access and equity for underserved student populations, undocumented students, high-impact practices, identity, leadership and spiritual development on college campuses and has served as a research faculty mentor for students.

As UC San Diego's Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Retention and Success, Dr. Figueroa will report to the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and will provide leadership to the Chancellor's Associates Scholars Program, OASIS, Undocumented Student Services, the Student Success Coaching Program, the Veterans' Resource Center, Academic Enrichment Programs and Transfer Student Success. In addition, Dr. Figueroa will contribute to campus-wide Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion collaborations, partner with HDH and College leadership to further advance the residential experience and be a key collaborator with the Teaching + Learning Commons.

Please join me in welcoming Dr. Figueroa to UC San Diego. I am also deeply grateful for Dr. Ebonee Williams' service as Interim Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Retention and Success during the past year.

I would like to thank Associate Vice Chancellor Adele Brumfield for serving as the Chair of this important search, and to also thank the members of the Search Committee and campus partners for their participation in this process.

Alysson M. Satterlund Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs