I am happy to announce that Akirah J. Bradley-Armstrong, our new Vice Chancellor for the Division of Student Affairs and Success, has officially joined us.
Akirah will be a powerful advocate for our students and a great addition to our campus community, as she arrives with nearly 20 years of experience as a student affairs professional, most recently as Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs at the University of Colorado Boulder. She is an accomplished leader who has demonstrated vision and dynamic leadership focused on supporting student belonging, engagement, health, wellness, and much more. She has also worked closely with student leadership to support student needs and priorities, and to ensure student perspectives are understood and considered across campus.
Her professional background makes her a strong fit for our campus. Akirah joined Boulder in 2016 as dean of students and associate vice chancellor. In that role she created a new social justice residence hall, a summer bridge program for veterans, and a student engagement and response team to help students successfully exercise their free speech rights. She worked at UC Berkeley from 2008 to 2016, starting as an academic programs coordinator in the Early Academic Outreach Program before serving as an academic specialist in the Office of Student Development. In 2011 she was named assistant dean of students.
Akirah holds a doctorate of education in educational leadership from UC Davis; a master of education in higher education and student affairs administration from the University of Vermont; and a bachelor of science in business administration from Mansfield University.
My sincere thanks to Jennifer Baszile, who has capably served as the vice chancellor on an interim basis for nearly two years. She is now the Associate Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Educational Partnerships, a role in which she will continue to advance equity in student success on our campus and forge collaborative partnerships with other institutions of higher education.
Our campus has weathered a challenging past two years, but our work together during this time has laid the foundation for a bright future for UC Santa Cruz. We have made progress on our shared goals of improving student success; elevating our research impact; fostering a more inclusive campus community; and increasing the efficiency, effectiveness and resilience of our campus. Akirah’s arrival makes us even stronger. Please join me in offering her a warm welcome!
