Announcement: Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs

July 11, 2018

Dear campus community,

We are very pleased to announce the appointment of Stephen Sutton as Berkeley’s next Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs (VCSA), effective July 1, 2018. Steve has served as interim VCSA since January 2017, and his permanent appointment follows a nationwide search. Steve brings a strong professional background and extensive institutional knowledge to this role, and under his leadership we are confident that the campus will continue to make strides towards our goal of making Berkeley as renowned for its student experience as it is for its academic achievements.

Steve first joined the Berkeley community in 1987 as a residential life coordinator, working directly with students and residential advisors. After various student affairs roles at other universities in Florida and Texas, he returned to our campus in 2009 to serve as Executive Director of the Office of Student Development, then became Assistant Vice Chancellor for Residential & Housing Services in 2013 and Associate Vice Chancellor for Residential & Student Service Programs in 2015. Over the past year and a half, Steve has done a remarkable job in his role as interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs. In the midst of our unprecedented financial challenges, he has navigated budget cuts with a focus on minimizing the impact to students, co-led the implementation of Berkeley’s new Golden Bear Orientation program, and helped the campus prioritize and attend to critical student issues including basic needs, housing, and engagement around free speech.

In addition to his staff role, Steve has been a member of the Chancellor’s Staff Advisory Committee, and continues to regularly serve as a Berkeley Staff Assembly mentor and an instructor for the UC Berkeley Extension Certificate Program in Student Affairs and Higher-Education Administration. He has received many honors for his leadership in the field of student affairs, including the Presidential Citation and the Annuit Coeptis Senior Professional Award from the American College Personnel Association. He has also received UC Berkeley’s highest staff honor, the Chancellor’s Outstanding Staff Award, for his participation in the team that launched Stay Day, an on-campus professional development conference for Berkeley student services staff that ran annually for several years.

Steve received his B.S. in microbiology and M.A. in Higher Education & Student Affairs from Ohio State University, and holds an Ed.D. in Educational Administration & Supervision from the University of Houston.

The VCSA search committee was impressed with Steve’s strong management and interpersonal skills as well as his comprehensive knowledge of the campus culture and issues at Berkeley.The committee also appreciated his ability to connect with students and his highly collaborative approach towards addressing the many issues that arise at a campus as large and complex as ours.

You can find out more about Steve’s background and vision in this Q&A on Berkeley News.

Please join us in congratulating Steve on his appointment. We are both very appreciative of the steadfast leadership that he has provided for the Division of Student Affairs as its interim leader, and look forward to continuing to partner with him to strengthen the campus’ sense of community and enhance the student experience for our more than 30,000 undergraduate and 11,000 graduate students.

Sincerely,

Carol Christ
Chancellor

A. Paul Alivisatos
Executive Vice Chancellor & Provost


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