Leadership Team

Profile
The interim chief diversity officer & Title IX coordinator works closely with the offices of Admissions, University Relations, Academic Affairs, and Student Affairs on issues of equity and opportunity as they relate to race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, and national or ethnic origin in the areas of recruitment, admission, retention, hires, promotion, and fundraising – and is responsible for maintaining  proper university reporting procedures and policies as they pertain to federal and state laws.

Biography
Marina Melendez, currently also dean for the class of 2014, has been in the Dean’s Office for the past six years and before that was the director of graduate student services here. She came to Wesleyan from New Britain’s Human Resources Agency where she received a commendation from Governor Rowland for bringing in a 5 million dollar grant in support of women on welfare transitioning to employment, job training, or educational programs.  Here at Wesleyan she has served on a number of committees, including  Administrators and Faculty of Color Alliance, Social Justice Leadership Conference, Urban Education Semester, and McNair Advisory Board. She holds a doctorate in Social Foundations of Education from the NEAG School of Education, University of Connecticut, and both a masters of liberal arts and bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan.

Profile
The vice president for finance and administration is responsible for the financial operations of the institution, including budgeting, accounting, financial reporting, long-range financial planning, asset management, liability management, and risk management. With respect to administrative operations, the vice president is responsible for the operation and maintenance of facilities, construction activity, facilities planning, and food service. The vice president is responsible for the human resource function, including salary and benefit administration, recruiting, retention, and training. Other areas of responsibility include public safety and supervision of the University’s general counsel.

Biography
John C. Meerts came to Wesleyan in 1996 as director for information technology services. He was promoted to vice president for information technology in 2002. In June of 2005 he was made interim vice president for finance and treasurer and in May of 2006 was made vice president for finance and administration and treasurer. Prior to coming to Wesleyan, Mr. Meerts held a number of managerial positions in information technology at Yale University, the last of which was director of administrative systems. He holds a MPhil from Columbia University (NYC) in political science and a BA from Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, Conn.

Profile
The dean of admission and financial aid supervises the admission and financial aid offices, directs all aspects of admission, and provides general supervision in the area of financial aid. The 24- member admission staff is responsible for the recruitment and selection of all entering undergraduates: a first-year class of 745 and 75 new transfers each year (15 matriculating each spring). The financial aid staff of eight administers roughly $50 million of grant assistance in a need-based program and counsels families on matters related to financing a Wesleyan education.

Biography
Nancy Hargrave Meislahn has been dean of admission and financial aid at Wesleyan since January 2000. Prior to coming to Wesleyan, she was the director of undergraduate admissions at Cornell University for 15 years. She served on the Ivy League admission and policy committees and was president of the New York State Association of College Admissions Counselors, from which she received the inaugural President’s Award for Excellence in Counseling in 1989. She is a member of the U.S. News and World Report admissions advisory committee, served on the board of the Test of English as s Foreign Language (TOEFL), and consults for the US State Department and College Board as the senior member of the advisory committee for the Overseas Schools Project.

Profile:

The Chair of the Faculty is an appointed position with a one-year term.  The Chair runs faculty meetings and is Chair of the Faculty Executive Committee, which represents the faculty as a whole in working with the administration. 

Bio:

Ellen Nerenberg is Hollis Professor of Romance Languages & Literatures (Italian Studies). She holds degrees from Stanford University and The University of Chicago and has been a faculty member here since 1994. Her Prison Terms: Representing Confinement During and After Italian Fascism (University of Toronto Press, 2001) won the Howard R. Marraro Prize from the Modern Language Association for the best book on an Italian subject in the 2000-01 biennial. Her most recent book, Murder Made in Italy: Homicide, Media, and Contemporary Italian Culture, was published by Indiana University Press in March 2012.

Profile
The provost and vice president for academic affairs has responsibility for matters relating to the recruitment and promotion of the faculty, the content of the curriculum, continuing studies, athletics and the library. The provost and vice president for academic affairs has bottom-line responsibility for meeting budget targets for faculty compensation and for academic departments and programs, as well as athletics and the library. In addition to the university librarian, the dean of continuing studies and the director of athletics, the directors of the offices of International Studies, Graduate Studies, Writing Programs, Center for the Arts and the Graduate Liberal Studies Program report to the Office of the Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs. The directors of six academic centers also report to the vice president through the academic deans.

Biography
Rob Rosenthal earned a BA in sociology and English from Livingston College in New Jersey, and then an MA and PhD in Sociology from the University of California at Santa Barbara. He joined the sociology department at Wesleyan in 1987, teaching courses in urban sociology, social movements, and community research. He has written widely about homelessness, including Homeless in Paradise (1994), and the use of music in social movements, including Playing for Change (2010) and Pete Seeger: In His Own Words (co-edited with Sam Rosenthal, 2012). He was a founding director of Wesleyan’s Center for Community Partnerships and Service-Learning Center.

Profile
The director of strategic initiatives works with the president and senior staff on issues that involve the institution broadly, including strategic planning and Communications, and with faculty and staff in facilitating new initiatives supported by the president.

Biography
Charles Salas received his BA from UC Berkeley, MA from Wesleyan (history), and PhD in history from the Claremont Graduate University. An intellectual historian with a focus on the cultural and political legacies of the classical period, he has published in a wide variety of areas: including precalculus mathematics, the history of science, the philosophy of history, cultural history, historiography and the history of art. Prior coming to Wesleyan, he worked at the Getty in Los Angeles where he was head of research and education at the Getty Research Institute.

Profile
The Chief of Staff works with the president on a daily basis, preparing briefing materials, prioritizing matters that require the president’s attention, and advising on a wide variety of issues. The Chief of Staff also works closely with members of the Cabinet as well as faculty, staff, and student leadership to monitor and guide progress on university objectives.

Biography
Prior to joining Wesleyan in 2004 as a major gift officer in University Relations, Andrew Tanaka worked for the consulting firm Towers Perrin and then as a national accounts executive at Aetna.  A Freeman Scholar, he graduated from Wesleyan in 2000 with a BA in economics.

Profile
The vice president for student affairs supervises a large and complex office and works with the vice president for academic affairs to develop programs that connect faculty and students outside the classroom in a variety of co-curricular activities. The vice president supervises the office of the dean of students as well as the office of academic advancement (the class deans). The vice president also supervises new student orientation and collaborates with academic affairs on the faculty advising program as well as various co-curricular programs that contribute to the intellectual life of the campus. In conjunction with faculty and student committees, the office is responsible for a wide range of policies and issues affecting students’ academic and co-curricular experience.

Biography
“Dean Mike,” as he is known among students, was appointed vice president for student affairs in February, 2008. A native of upstate New York, he holds a BS in microbiology from Cornell University and a MS in counseling and higher education from Central Connecticut State University. Beginning in 1997, he served as Wesleyan’s dean of students, becoming interim dean of the college in 2007. He has worked with students and faculty in numerous capacities, including the development of a strategic facilities plan, improvement of relations with city residents, enhancement of services for students with disabilities, oversight of the student judicial system, and improvements to orientation activities. Throughout his tenure he has been a strong advocate for effective student governance as well as active student participation in institutional decision-making.

Profile
The vice president for university relations cultivates lifelong relationships with alumni, parents, and friends, grows pride in the Wesleyan community, and develops support for University initiatives. To accomplish these objectives, the vice president directs a team that conceives, plans, and administers Wesleyan’s outreach activities, including development/fundraising, alumni, and parent relations; career resources for students and alumni; and events, including Homecoming/Family Weekend and Reunion/Commencement. A principal component of these responsibilities is oversight of the University’s comprehensive development campaigns to increase gift and volunteer support to Wesleyan, such as the record-setting $281-million Wesleyan Campaign of 2005 and the planning and implementation of our next $400 million campaign.

Biography
Barbara-Jan Wilson has been vice president for university relations at Wesleyan since the spring of 1999. These responsibilities include fundraising, communications, alumni programs, events, and career resources. From 1990 to 1999, she was dean of admission and financial aid; from 1982 to 1990, she was director of career resources and associate dean of the college, also at Wesleyan. Previously, she worked at Williams College, at the Ethel Walker School, and in the Vermont public school system. She received her master’s and bachelor’s degrees in English from the University of Connecticut (magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa).