Anna Gonzalez named new dean of students at Lewis & Clark
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President Barry Glassner announced today that Anna Gonzalez, currently associate vice chancellor for student affairs at the University of Illinois, will become Lewis & Clark’s new dean of students. Gonzalez will join the College around July 1.
Gonzalez, who has a PhD in higher education administration from Claremont Graduate University, has been at Illinois since 2008. A 17-year veteran in the student-affairs field, she previously led a variety of student-life functions at the University of California at Irvine, and has directed student-life and residential-life functions for three semester-at-sea programs for the University of Virginia and University of Pittsburgh.
“With her range of managerial experience, dedication to students, and well-demonstrated ability to cultivate diversity, Anna Gonzalez is sure to be a visionary leader as dean of students at Lewis & Clark,” Glassner said. “I am confident that our students, faculty, and staff will find Anna to be a tremendous addition to the campus community and key contributor to the quality of our students’ educational experience.”
Provost and Vice President Jane Atkinson described Gonzalez as someone with a clear understanding of how student-affairs staff can effectively support and enhance academic engagement. “Anna deeply values the academic enterprise,” Atkinson said, “and understands how important it is to partner with faculty in helping students make the most of their college education.”
A graduate of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, Gonzalez said she is eager to join the Lewis & Clark community because of students’ strong social commitments and the College’s international orientation.
“What excites me about Lewis & Clark is its ethos of social justice, environmental awareness, and commitment to preparing students to be positive change agents in the world,” Gonzalez said. “During my visits, the cosmopolitan outlook represented in the study-abroad programs and the regional diversity of the student body really stood out. I’m inspired by the balance between independent thinking and collaborative learning that is so much in evidence throughout the campus. This represents the best traditions of a humanist, liberal arts education.”
In addition to her extensive work on programming for students, collaborations with faculty, and campus construction projects, diversity is an area of particular focus and accomplishment for Gonzalez. At Illinois, she has led efforts to recruit and retain a diverse student-affairs staff and has overseen the management of cultural centers for Asian American, African American, Latino/a, and other minority student groups.
A leader in regional and national professional associations, Gonzalez currently serves the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators in two capacities—as past-chair of its Undergraduate Fellows Program Board and chair of one of its regional conferences. In addition, she is treasurer/secretary for the National Association for Asian American Studies.
Gonzalez said her first task will be “to listen and learn from the Lewis & Clark community” about ways in which the Division of Student Life “can help build new traditions that exemplify excellence and inclusion in the student experience.
“I want the student-affairs dimension of the campus to be both a strong supporter of, and partner with, academic affairs in increasing the retention and graduation rates of our students,” Gonzalez said. “I am committed to building upon the already-successful programs that nurture leadership skills and prepare students for continuing success.”
The search committee was chaired by Professor of Communication Daena Goldsmith and assisted by the search firm Isaacson, Miller.
