Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Soncia
Reagins-Lilly will leave UCLA at the end of winter quarter to
become senior associate vice president and dean of students at the
University of Texas at Austin.
Reagins-Lilly, who has been at UCLA since August 2000, was
contacted by a University of Texas search committee after being
nominated for the position. She will begin work at the university
in April.
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Janina Montero said the UCLA
administration has no immediate plans to replace Reagins-Lilly.
Instead, her responsibilities will be redistributed.
Reagins-Lilly said her new post will be similar to her current
role at UCLA in terms of responsibilities but will be a bit more
extensive and put her in direct contact with students more
often.
“There are more similarities than differences (between the
two positions),” she said. “I will still be involved in
providing and overseeing student services. But my job now focuses
on more of the administrative side of student services, and the
position at UT has a wider range of student services under my
control. It’s a complex range of programs, some that I
haven’t had the opportunity to oversee in my
career.”
University of Texas Vice President for Student Affairs Juan
Gonzalez said Reagins-Lilly will have various entities reporting to
her, including judicial affairs, special programs, housing and food
services, emergency and legal services, the volunteer and service
center, and Greek organizations.
Before she was officially hired, Reagins-Lilly attended a
leadership forum at the University of Texas on Dec. 5, 2005, as
part of a two-day interview process. Students, staff and faculty
were invited to ask Reagins-Lilly and another finalist questions
during the forum.
Reagins-Lilly said she came away from the forum excited about
the position.
“I got a true sense that (the forum attendees) cared about
the institution and were invested in the institution,” she
said. “They were asking very specific questions about me
professionally.”
Montero said Reagins-Lilly is well-suited for a job with a lot
of direct student contact.
“She has very good relationships with students,”
Montero said. “Even though her (work) here didn’t bring
her into contact with students as often or as regularly, she took
pains to create those relationships.”
While Reagins-Lilly has not yet identified any specific programs
or changes she would like to implement at the University of Texas,
she said she believes her experience at UCLA will make the
transition smoother.
“UCLA positioned me well,” she said. “It has
provided me with opportunities in the inner workings of the
university, and that knowledge will equip me at UT, where there are
50,000 students. It’s a new skill set, and you take that with
you.”
Gonzalez agreed that Lilly’s experience will be beneficial
to the University of Texas community.
“She has an exquisite understanding of student growth and
learning,” he said. “She has experience in fiscal
management, a wonderful array of student programs, direct contact
with students. She has a set of expertise in policy and human
resources as well.”
Reagins-Lilly’s colleagues echoed Gonzalez.
“She brings breadth, imagination, creativity and a high
level of competence,” Montero said. “The UCLA community
will experience the loss of an extraordinary and highly productive
colleague. Students will lose an advocate and an
educator.”
Reagins-Lilly said she is looking forward to the move.
“UT is a premier world-class institution, just like
UCLA,” she said. “It’s one I have always been
interested in and followed. I’ll be working with the vice
president, the other associates and the student government.
I’m excited to learn from them.”
Reagins-Lilly added that she is already familiar with Austin
because her mother is from the area.
Still, Reagins-Lilly said she is sad to leave UCLA.
“It’s always bittersweet when you leave an
institution you love,” she said. “I feel like I’m
in the fabric of (UCLA). The UT offer is a challenge, but
it’s very comforting because I feel like I’m going
home.”