New Vice President for Student Development and Campus Life 

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:

Following a highly competitive national search, I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Dawn Meza Soufleris as the next Vice President for Student Development and Campus Life, effective April 5, 2021.

She brings strong academic credentials and decades of leadership experience in the field of student affairs. Dr. Soufleris received her B.A. in History and her M.A.T. in Social Sciences from Binghamton University and her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University at Buffalo. She currently serves as Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management at La Salle University, and, before joining La Salle in 2016, she spent 25 years at the Rochester Institute of Technology, where she rose to the position of Associate Vice President for Student Affairs.

Dr. Soufleris is a first generation college graduate from a Hispanic family who received her higher education from two excellent public universities. She has exceptional experience in the field of student affairs, and I am confident that she will be an effective advocate for the needs of all of Montclair State University’s highly diverse, talented, and ambitious students.

Dr. Soufleris will succeed Dr. Karen L. Pennington, who has served as Vice President for Student Development and Campus Life for 23 years. Dr. Pennington has been a key member of the leadership team that oversaw a major transformation of the University that included growth in enrollment, in residential life opportunities, in advising and student support services, and in all aspects of student campus life. She built and led an excellent team of professionals, she served as a mentor and role model for generations of students, and she leaves a strong foundation and mission in student life culture, policies, and activities for her successor. Dr. Pennington will continue to lead the Division of Student Development and Campus Life until her retirement on April 1, 2021 in order to assure a smooth transition in leadership.

I am grateful for the excellent work of the search committee, which was chaired by Vice President Donna McMonagle and included two students, Paulette Gando-Duenes, Executive Secretary of the Student Government Association and Jasmine Metellus, a member of the Haitian Student Association and Team Rocky, as well as College of Education and Human Services Assistant Dean Carolina Gonzalez, Assistant Provost Daniel Jean, Chair and Associate Professor Lyndal Khaw of the Department of Family Science and Human Development, College of Science and Mathematics Associate Dean Scott Kight, Associate Provost Allyson Straker-Banks, and Associate Vice President for Capital Planning and Project Management Mike Zanko. The search was coordinated by Director of Talent Acquisition Monica Tejeda.

I look forward to welcoming Dr. Soufleris to the Montclair State University community in April.  For more details about Dr. Soufleris, please read this story in the News Center.

Sincerely,
President Cole