Retirement of Associate Vice Chancellor and Dean of Students Alma Sifuentes

I am writing to announce the retirement of Alma Sifuentes, who has served as associate vice chancellor and dean of students for the past nine years.

A Stevenson College alumna, Alma first joined the UC Santa Cruz staff in 1990. Over the years, she has served in many capacities, including special assistant to the vice chancellor of student affairs; executive director for residential, dining, and family services; college administrative officer at Stevenson College; and internal director of Student Organization Advising and Resources.

Throughout her tenure, Alma has always kept the interests of students foremost. Under her leadership, dining services was transformed from an outsourced auxiliary unit into a university-run operation. More recently, Alma was responsible for initiating UC Santa Cruz's Campus Advocacy Resources and Education (CARE) program.

In the coming months, I plan to reach out to the Dean of Students office for input on how to restructure student support services. In the meantime, as announced earlier this year, Lucy Rojas will continue to serve as interim dean of students and Mary Knudtson will fulfill the role of interim associate vice chancellor. Please join me in congratulating Alma on this milestone and thanking Lucy and Mary for their service.