The run-off for the vacant vice chancellor of student affairs
position has been reduced to a one-person race after the other
candidate recently withdrew application papers.
Tomas Morales, currently the vice president for student affairs
at Cal Poly Pomona, said he decided to drop out of contention after
he was given the added responsibility of interim vice president of
academic affairs.
“My decision had nothing to do with UCLA as an
institution, but rather because I assumed more responsibilities
here and am taking up the challenge of the position,” Morales
explained.
The sole applicant remaining in contention is Janina Montero,
vice president for campus life and student services at Brown
University.
Montero could not be reached for comment on Monday.
The position in question was vacated in Jan. 2002 by Winston
Doby, who is now a vice president for the University of
California.
Claudia Mitchell-Kernan, vice chancellor for Graduate Affairs,
has managed student affair duties in the interim.
Montero and Morales were narrowed down late last year from a
pool of 75 potential candidates by an 11-member search panel.
According to Vice Chancellor Steve Olsen, who led the search
committee, Chancellor Albert Carnesale has the final say on the
appointment and should announce his decision very shortly.
Although the vice chancellor of student affairs position has
been non-existent for a full year, Olsen said it is an important
post to the running of campus.
“This part of the campus needs permanent
leadership,” he said. “It is the chancellor’s
intention to fill the position.
Both candidates were invited for visits to the UCLA campus in
mid-December.
They met with the chancellor, Executive Vice Chancellor Daniel
Neuman, representatives from the Center for Student Programming, as
well as members of some student groups.
“I had a wonderful interview with the chancellor and I was
impressed with the students I met,” Morales said. “But
in the end I had issues with leaving Cal Poly Pomona because of the
commitment I have made to the students and the campus.”
USAC Internal Vice President TJ Cordero, who attended the
interview session with Montero, said she had good rapport with the
students present.
“She is a good candidate, although she didn’t seem too
aware of a lot of issues going on at the UCLA campus at the moment
and the state of California,” he said.
“Still, she showed she was very interested to find out
what is going on before she steps into making decisions,”
Cordero continued.
David Chung, director of the Asian Pacific Coalition, said he
was a little disappointed with Montero’s hesitance in
supporting the issue of general education diversity
requirements.
Montero’s background lies in private education. She was
dean of student life at Princeton University for seven years before
moving to Brown University in January 2000 to take her current
position.