Dr. Gigi Secuban, senior associate director at the University of Arkansas’ College of Engineering, will be joining the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs as the associate vice chancellor and director for inclusion and intercultural relations at the University of Illinois, effective August 1, 2012.

Dr. Secuban brings a wide range of experiences in multicultural programs and international education, first-year experience, recruitment and retention.  Her background includes a history of collaboration with academic affairs in developing recruitment and retention programs in the Colleges of Engineering and Education at Arkansas.  In her role as the senior associate director in the College of Engineering, Dr. Secuban developed a freshman orientation program contributing to a 71% improvement in retention, coordinated recruitment activities in collaboration with faculty, and led the renovation of the Freshman Engineering Center.  Before joining the College of Engineering, she served as the director for the multicultural center at the University of Arkansas.  In this role, she created an innovative and award-winning Cultural Immersion Program, and developed campus-wide programs to enhance cultural awareness.  In addition to her multicultural and inclusion experience, Dr. Secuban possesses extensive experience in recruitment and admissions, and developed a program for incoming students of color in collaboration with academic departments. She is committed to students by supporting their academic development and promoting diversity and inclusion.  Dr. Secuban earned her bachelor’s, master’s and an Ed.D. in higher education administration at the University of Arkansas.

The success of this search is attributed to a dedicated search advisory committee led by Kenneth Ballom, associate vice chancellor and dean of students. The committee recruited an outstanding pool of candidates.

Please congratulate Dr. Secuban on her new position with the University of Illinois and Student Affairs.