It is with great pleasure that we announce the appointment of Blia Yang as the Executive Director of Admissions within Enrollment Management, effective November 14.
Yang will be joining UC San Diego from the University of California, Santa Cruz where she currently serves as the Director of Undergraduate Admissions. Her prior experience includes serving as Associate and later, Interim Director of the UC Santa Cruz Office of Undergraduate Admissions, as Assistant Director of Transfer Services at the University of California, Santa Barbara’s Office of Admissions, and as Director of the Santa Barbara Consortium of the California Student Opportunity and Access Program (Cal-SOAP). In these roles, she has provided innovative and transformative leadership, managed and facilitated strategic program planning, and worked as a collaborative partner with faculty, departments, campus colleagues, Office of the President, and more. Yang has a master’s degree in Guidance and Counseling from California Lutheran University. Yang’s 22 years of experience in both undergraduate admissions and college preparation programs will allow her to bring a breadth and depth of experiences to UC San Diego.
As the Executive Director of Admissions, Yang will work under the direction of Associate Vice Chancellor of Enrollment Management (AVC-EM) Jim Rawlins to lead a team focused on recruiting, admitting, and enrolling an accomplished and diverse class of undergraduate students to the campus each year. Yang will be responsible for providing strategic leadership and vision as well as achieving annual campus enrollment goals and targets. She will lead a talented team of Admissions staff who evaluate and process more than 150,000 first-year and transfer applications for undergraduate admission annually.
As a member of the AVC-EM’s senior leadership team, Yang will serve as a strategic leader in helping to establish short and long-range plans to achieve the university’s enrollment goals. Yang will also be engaged in key partnerships with colleagues in the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office and Registrar’s Office as well as other key collaborative units within Enrollment Management and across campus including campus faculty, schools, colleges, centers, and more. In addition to Yang’s professional experience, her personal experiences as the daughter of Hmong immigrants, and as a low income and first-generation student, contribute to her dedication to create a more diverse and just educational system where all students can succeed.
We sincerely thank Alison Sanders, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Chief of Staff for the Executive Vice Chancellor, for contributing her skilled leadership as the chair of the search committee and sincerely appreciate all of the members of the committee for their time, commitment, and insights throughout the search process.
We also extend our deep appreciation and thanks to Debi Kammerer, who has been serving as Interim Director of the Office of Admissions. Debi will remain in the role until Yang’s arrival and will assist in her transition to UC San Diego.
Please join us in congratulating Blia Yang on her appointment. We are excited for her to bring her skills and experience as a seasoned professional within the University of California system, her ability to direct programs and build relationships, and her deep understanding of the profound impact of higher education on students’ trajectories to the Office of Admissions at UC San Diego.
