More administrators, whee!

Vice President for Student Affairs Mike Whaley just sent out an all-campus e-mail announcing the appointment of three new staff members as well as the return of David Phillips, formerly the dean for the class of 2010:

Scott Backer, who served a one-year appointment as Assistant Dean of Student Services last year, has received a permanent appointment as Assistant Director of Student Life. In this role, Scott will continue to work directly with the Student Judicial Board and also assist the Dean of Students with co-curricular programming initiatives. A Skidmore College graduate, Scott has a M.Ed. from Antioch University New England. Prior to coming to Wesleyan, he worked in student affairs at Vermont Academy, where he also coached soccer and lacrosse.

Elisa Del Valle will join the Office of Student Activities and Leadership Development as Assistant Director. Elisa will advise student organizations on event planning and assist in mentoring and student leadership development. Elisa joins Wesleyan from the Department of Residential Life at Mount Holyoke College, where she has been for the past four years. She has a B.A. from Smith College and recently completed a M.Ed. in Social Justice Education from the University at Massachusetts, Amherst.

Michelle Myers-Brown has accepted our offer to be Director of the Usdan Center. Michelle comes to Wesleyan with strong experience in university center operations from three different campuses, most recently at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where she opened a new center. Prior to her experience there, Michelle received her Ph.D. in educational administration from Georgia State University and has served as the director of student activities at DeKalb College. She has significant experience in campus scheduling and guest services as well as campus dining from her previous positions.

Finally, we are thrilled that David Phillips will be rejoining us as the Dean for the Class of 2012. David previously served as a class dean at Wesleyan for seven years and also taught in the GLSP. He spent this past year at Chatham University in Pittsburg [sic] as Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students, and is eager to return to Wesleyan to resume his work as a class dean. David earned his B.A. and M.A. from the University of California at Santa Cruz and his Ph.D. from Yale University in American Studies.

Some of you may remember Scott Backer as the central figure in last year's "prohibition" fiasco. Also, I believe Dean Rick Culliton served as Usdan director this past year, though the staff page seems to have been updated to reflect the new hires.