With the departure of two top administrators within the Student
Affairs department, there will be many changes to the structure of
the department’s administration.
Edward Wiesmeier, the assistant vice chancellor of Student
Development and Health, will soon retire, and Soncia Lilly, the
assistant vice chancellor of student affairs, will also be leaving
the department. Due to the loss of these two administrators, the
Student Affairs department will soon face a shift in administrative
positions.
Janina Montero, vice chancellor of student affairs, will be
organizing the changes and said they should be fully implemented by
July 1.
The Student Affairs department is responsible for school
programs that impact student life, such as the Center for Student
Programming, health education, Student Loan Services and the Center
for Women and Men.
Due to the shuffling of positions, two positions within the
Department of Student Affairs are open for hire ““ director of
Student Psychological Services and director of the Dashew
International Center.
The committees responsible for the selection of the new
directors are currently in place and accepting applications,
Montero said.
With the upcoming changes, Student Psychological Services will
receive a new director and assistant vice chancellor to oversee the
program.
“I think that there’s a lot of excitement for the
commencement of the search (for the SPS director). Student
Psychological Services and the Ashe Center work closely together,
and I think the center is looking forward to having a director in
place so the organizations can look forward to
collaborating,” said Pam Viele, the current director of
student health education at the Arthur Ashe Student Health and
Wellness Center.
Viele, who will become the interim executive director of student
development in July, said she is looking forward to many of the
transitions that will be taking place in the Student Affairs
department.
Student Psychological Services, which is currently under
Wiesmeier’s jurisdiction, will be moved under the supervision
of Robert Naples, assistant vice chancellor of Student and Campus
Life.
Changing the oversight of Student Psychological Services will
allow it to interact better with the other programs within the
Student Affairs department, Naples said.
Student Psychological Services will now be able to interact more
closely with the UCLA Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Campus
Center, the Office of Residential Life and the Center for Student
Programming, he said.
“I don’t think there will be any major impact on the
delivery of services to students during the transition for all of
the administrators,” Naples said. “The fact that
we’re moving around some departments under different
assistant vice chancellors will not make a difference.”
Administrators said the upcoming departmental changes will
minimally impact students and should be positive for the
department.
“I think (the changes) will impact the department
positively. Organizationally, we will be able to serve students
more effectively. … It aligns the organizational structure to
more effectively achieve the goals of our strategic plan,”
Viele said.