Leadership Team

Profile
The secretary of the university and special assistant to the president for Board and campus relations serves as the president’s liaison to the Board of Trustees and is responsible for coordinating initiatives with Board members, preparing materials, and assisting the Governance Committee on matters related to trustee recruitment, orientation, and Board management. Assurance that the Board and University are in compliance with the charter and by-laws also is within the secretary’s purview. This position also works with members of the Cabinet to foster community within the University family.

Biography
Marianne Calnen, a native of Springfield, Mass., joined the University staff in 1998 and has worked with the Board and the president since that time in numerous capacities. Previously, she served as District Director to then United States Representative Nancy L. Johnson from Connecticut’s Sixth District. She earned a BA degree with concentrations in communications and experimental psychology from Albertus Magnus College and an MS degree in Guidance and Psychological Services from Springfield College.

Profile
The vice president for institutional partnerships and chief diversity officer has responsibility for campus-wide issues including campus diversity, external university partnerships, and co-curricular initiatives. The vice president manages the Office of Affirmative Action, the Center for Community Partnerships (including Community Relations, Community Service, and Green Street Arts Center), the Upward Bound Program, and WESU Radio Station. The vice president collaborates with the offices of Admissions, University Relations, and Academic 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. The vice president serves on the president’s Cabinet as an advisor to the president and the officers of the University on related issues.

Biography   
Sonia Mañjon is the former executive director of the Center for Art and Public Life, founding chair of the community arts major, and former holder of the endowed position of Simpson Professor of Community Arts at the California College of the Arts (CCA).  At CCA she provided executive leadership for a six-year campus-wide diversity initiative and developed a highly successful citywide program that engaged over 200 families in art making and civic engagement.  She has more than 20 years of experience in higher education, civic and nonprofit administration, including local and state government agencies. She holds a doctorate in humanities, and a MA in cultural anthropology from the California Institute of Integral Studies, and a BA in world arts and cultures with a dance emphasis from University of California Los Angeles.

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. The vice president also is responsible for information technology (ITS) including all computing, network and telecommunications related activities, and infrastructure. 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 23- member admission staff is responsible for the recruitment and selection of all entering undergraduates: a first-year class of 745 and 60 new transfers each year. The financial aid staff of eight administers more than $35 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 a member of the advisory committee for the Overseas Schools Project.

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 interim 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). 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, communications, 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 $500 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).