Leadership Team

Profile
The vice president for information technology and chief information officer oversees the full spectrum of technology issues at the university – from infrastructure to digital information – and provides strategic direction and cohesion to the various parts of ITS as well as advocating for ITS at the university level.

Biography
David Baird joined Wesleyan in 2012. He holds a Ph.D. in geophysics from Cornell University and obtained his undergraduate degree in geology and physics from the University of New Brunswick (Canada).  He has 14 years of leadership experience using technology to improve education, and worked previously at Colgate and at Lawrence Universities

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 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 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 chair of the faculty consults regularly with the provost & vice president for academic affairs and with the president; coordinates the work of the University's standing committees; establishes the agenda for and presides over the faculty meetings; convenes and presides over the Faculty Executive Committee; is the faculty representative to the Finance Committee of the Board of Trustees; serves on the Budget Priorities Committee; attends the meetings of the President's Cabinet.

Bio
Andrew Szegedy-Maszak earned his B.A. in Classics at the University of Michigan and his Ph.D. at Princeton University.  Since 1973 he has been on the faculty at Wesleyan University, where he is now Professor of Classical Studies and Jane A. Seney Professor of Greek.  He has also held visiting professorships at UCLA, Dartmouth and the Yale School of Drama. He has been a guest scholar in the Department of Photographs at the J. Paul Getty Museum.  He has won four awards for teaching. He has published widely on Greek history and historiography and on the history of photography.  His current project is a study of the representation of classical sites by 19th-century photographers and travel writers; among his recent publications is the co-authored Antiquity and Photography (2005), which won the Association of American Publishers Award for Excellence in Scholarly Publishing.

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
As chief academic officer, the provost and vice president for academic affairs (VPAA) oversees: the University curriculum and new curricular initiatives; faculty hiring and promotion; support for faculty research and teaching; and the administration of all academic departments, interdisciplinary and certificate programs, centers, and colleges, the athletics department, the library, the Office of the Registrar, and the Office of Institutional Research. Within the division of Academic Affairs also are the offices of International Studies, Graduate Studies, Graduate Liberal Studies, the Writing Programs, the Center for the Arts.  The Provost and VPAA is a core participant in the University's budget development and strategic planning and has bottom-line responsibility for meeting budget targets for faculty compensation and for academic departments and programs, as well as athletics and the library

Biography
Ruth Striegel Weissman, professor of psychology and Walter A. Crowell University Professor of the Social Sciences, holds a doctoral degree in clinical psychology from the University of South Carolina. Her research has focused on understanding the causes and effects of eating and weight disorders, and particularly on using insights gained from large-scale studies to alleviate individual suffering. She has edited three books, published more than 200 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, received major funding from the National Institutes of Health, and currently is editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Eating Disorders. She is the past president of two professional associations devoted to eating disorders and has won several awards for her teaching and research.

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, the office of academic advancement (class deans), the office of public safety and graduate student services.  The vice president 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. We are currently in a $400 million dollar campaign for endowment support and financial aid.  THIS IS WHY

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).