Personnel Announcement from Student Affairs and Enrollment Management

Greetings,

We are excited to announce a cross-divisional collaboration between Student Affairs and Enrollment Management to strengthen student satisfaction, retention and persistence to graduation at Emerson. Beginning November 1, we will implement structural and leadership changes within the Office of Student Success (OSS), which has made great progress since its inception in Fall 2014. Building on the solid foundation created over the past five years, we are now poised not only to help more students graduate, but also to ensure an excellent experience for all students so that they remain engaged as members of the Emerson family long after graduation.

Sharon Duffy, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs, who has provided excellent service and support to students in Student Affairs and Campus Life for the last 18 years, will join the Enrollment Management senior leadership group as the Assistant Vice President for Student Success. She will retain oversight of the offices of Student Accessibility Services and Student Care and Support, both of which will remain part of Student Affairs, and will add high-level oversight of the Office of Student Success within Enrollment Management. Sharon will become a valued partner to the leadership staff in Enrollment Management while continuing to provide a formal leadership connection to Student Affairs and Campus Life. Bringing over 25 years of experience working in the field of higher education, she is very excited to continue to contribute in meaningful ways to Emerson in this inaugural role that will develop cross-functional teams in support of student success, student satisfaction, and retention. 

Carol Smolinsky, Associate Director of Student Success, will become the Director of Retention and Student Success after serving as an associate director in several capacities within Enrollment Management. We are delighted that she will be stepping into a role that draws from her experience in the offices of Enrollment Services & Support, Financial Aid, and Student Success. She will assume the leadership of the day to day operations in the Office of Student Success.

Chris Daly, Director of Retention and Student Success, will join the Student Affairs and Campus Life team as the Assistant Dean of Campus Life. After working in the field of enrollment for over 15 years, Chris welcomes the opportunity to assist with student support in a different way and in a new area at this stage of her career.

Amanda Turnley, Director of Student Care and Support’s office will be relocated from the Campus Life suite to become co-located with the Office of Student Success. We expect this move to provide more efficient, seamless and holistic support to our students. More news related to this move will come next semester.

Sharon’s transition will necessitate additional changes within student affairs, including Erik Muurisepp becoming Assistant Vice President for Campus Life. Additionally, Jason Meier and the staff in Student Engagement and Leadership will assume responsibility for advising the Student Government Association (SGA).

We are all excited about the opportunity to partner more closely in support of our students’ success. Please join us in congratulating these team members on their new roles. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Ruthanne M. Madsen, EdD                            
Vice President for Enrollment Management 

Jim Hoppe
Vice President & Dean for Campus Life