With an inspired (and inspiring) institutional strategic plan, To Boldly Go, setting a direction and guiding innovations and initiatives at UC Davis, the Division of Student Affairs is poised to take on a significant leadership role in bringing the University’s goals to life. Creating the ecosystem needed to ensure an educational experience that centers inclusive excellence, strives for equity and prepares students for the challenges of a divisive and changing social and cultural landscape is not only a worthy cause, but also an educational imperative. In partnership with Keeling & Associates, the Division seeks to establish a strategic plan that will complement the University’s goals by enhancing the experience and promoting the success of both undergraduate and graduate students while building an inclusive and equitable environment for students and the staff who support them. 

Next Step: Implementation Planning Group

Once the comment period has concluded and the Strategic Plan has been finalized, the Implementation Planning Group (IPG) will develop the practical roadmap that will take the Division’s strategic plan from a conceptual plan to a concrete action plan. The four strategic goals and accompanying objectives will be the launching point for that work. Beginning in April 2024 and continuing through December 2024, the IPG will engage regularly to develop, review, revise and finalize action items, or “activities.” 

For each activity, the IPG will:

• create timelines and sequences;
• develop action steps;
• make tentative assignments of responsibility and accountability;
• define assessment methods and metrics; and
• identify required resources that will support achievement of the goals and objectives of the strategic plan.

IPG Members

• Amy Shuman, Director, Staff Coaching and Professional Development
• Asia Valdivia, Senior Executive Analyst, Office of the Vice Chancellor 
• Cecily Roberts, Director, Women's Resource and Research  Center
• Catrina Wagner, Director, New Student Academic Services
• Deb Johnson, Director, Campus Recreation
• Jen Billeci, Director, Student Disability Services 
• Jen Butler, Executive Director, Student Affairs Marketing and Communications
• Kawami Evans, Executive Director, Inclusion, Culture and Belonging | Divisional DEI Strategist
• Lindsay Romasanta, Chief of Staff, Office of the Vice Chancellor
• Lisa Papagni, Assistant Director, Student Housing and Dining Services
• Neil Huefner, Associate Director, Student Affairs Assessment
• Sara Hawkes, Executive Director, Academic Assistance and Tutoring Centers

• Strategic Planning Committee
• Kawami Evans (co-chair), Executive Director, Inclusion, Culture and Belonging | Divisional DEI Strategist
  Lindsay Romasanta (co-chair), Chief of Staff
  Celene Aridin, ASUCD External Affairs Vice President
  Analisa Brown, Cross Cultural Center Graduate Student Resource Coordinator
  Donelle Davis, Executive Director, Business Operations and Services
  Luis Esparza, Associate Director, Internship and Career Center
  Rolaine James, Disability Specialist, Student Disability Center
  Ben Fong, Graduate Student Association President
  Allyson Francisco, ASUCD Controller
  Mateo Fuentes, Vice Chancellor Fellow at TRiO
  Jeff Heiser, Associate Director, Campus Recreation
  Neil Daniel Huefner, Associate Director, Student Affairs Assessment
  Dave Johnson, Executive Director, Human Resources
  Sergio Maciel, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Fellow
  Cecily Roberts, Director, Women's Resources and Research Center
  Mary Schertzer, Director, Retail Dining
  Amy Shuman, Director, Workforce Development 
  Margaret Trout, Executive Director, Student Health and Counseling Services

Project Timeline

About Keeling & Associates

K&A is a higher education consulting and professional services firm that creates “change for learning.” The firm’s projects have a common purpose: to advance learning and improve outcomes for both students and institutions. The firm has worked with more than 350 institutions of higher education over the past three decades and has facilitated strategic planning projects for more than 115 colleges and universities, including for whole institutions or schools, divisions and major departments, and related foundations. For more information, please visit www.keelingassociates.com.