Our people

A page within Student Affairs Administration (SAA)

Virtual Information Sessions

Want to learn more about our program? Join us at an information session! You can also connect with us individually at apply2saa@uwlax.edu.

M.S.Ed. (master's program) Virtual Information Sessions:

  • Ask the Program Director, Drop-in Wednesdays between 11:00 am-2:00 pm CDT, no appointment is needed (click to join)
  • Fall 2023 Dates TBD

Ed.D. (doctoral program) Virtual Information Sessions:

  • Fall 2023 Dates TBD

Department Chair

Tori Svoboda  Profile of Tori Svoboda  Meet with me

Associate Professor
345F Morris Hall
tsvoboda@uwlax.edu
608.785.6759

Specialty areas:

intersections of gender, racial/ethnic, and social class identities; orientation, transition and retention programs; program assessment; budget management; supervision; social justice education

Ed.D. Program Director

Adele Lozano  Profile of Adele Lozano

Associate Professor
345E Morris Hall
alozano@uwlax.edu
608.785.6871

Specialty areas:

Latinx/a/o identity development and leadership development; student development theory; ethnic cultural centers; qualitative research

MSED GPD

Anne Thurmer  Profile of Anne Thurmer  Meet with me

Assistant Professor
345A Morris Hall
athurmer@uwlax.edu
608.785.8743

Specialty areas:

  • Low-income, First-Generation College Student Success
  • Student Affairs in Community Colleges
  • Graduate Student Research and Writing
  • Equity and Justice in Strategic Enrollment Management

Full-time Faculty

Becki Elkins  Profile of Becki Elkins

Associate Professor
345C Morris Hall
belkins@uwlax.edu
608.785.6489

Specialty areas:

Higher education organization and governance; higher education history; student affairs law and policy; assessment of student learning and program efficiency; social class identity; and college students in recovery.

Adele Lozano  Profile of Adele Lozano

Associate Professor
345E Morris Hall
alozano@uwlax.edu
608.785.6871

Specialty areas:

Latinx/a/o identity development and leadership development; student development theory; ethnic cultural centers; qualitative research

Tori Svoboda  Profile of Tori Svoboda  Meet with me

Associate Professor
345F Morris Hall
tsvoboda@uwlax.edu
608.785.6759

Specialty areas:

intersections of gender, racial/ethnic, and social class identities; orientation, transition and retention programs; program assessment; budget management; supervision; social justice education

Anne Thurmer  Profile of Anne Thurmer  Meet with me

Assistant Professor
345A Morris Hall
athurmer@uwlax.edu
608.785.8743

Specialty areas:

  • Low-income, First-Generation College Student Success
  • Student Affairs in Community Colleges
  • Graduate Student Research and Writing
  • Equity and Justice in Strategic Enrollment Management
Jörg Vianden  Profile of Jörg Vianden

Professor
345D Morris Hall
jvianden@uwlax.edu
608.785.6870

Specialty areas:

I study college student persistence as well as men and masculinities in higher education. I am the author of Got Solidarity? Challenging Straight White College Men to Advocate for Social Justice, published by Routledge in 2020. 

Ad hoc

Kris Anderson

Kris Anderson

Lecturer

kanderson2@uwlax.edu
715.379.8125

Specialty areas:
Admissions and Recruitment, Strategic Enrollment Management, and Scholarly Personal Narrative Methodology.

SAA Courses Taught:
808, 875

 

Charlotte Davidson

Charlotte Davidson

Lecturer

cdavidson@uwlax.edu

Independent Scholar

Specialty areas:
Indigenous/Diné Women, Indigenous/Diné Leadership, and Indigenous Higher Education

SAA Courses Taught:
800, 810

Dre Domingue

Dre Domingue

Lecturer

adomingue@uwlax.edu

Assistant Dean of Students at Davidson College 

Specialty areas:
College student development, student leadership and activism, critical pedagogy and facilitation, campus equity and inclusion, Black feminist theory and intersectionality

SAA Courses Taught: 
702, 820

Vitaliano Figueroa

Vitaliano Figueroa

Lecturer

vfigueroa@uwlax.edu

Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs at UWL

SAA Courses Taught:
760

 

Tina Garcia

Tina Garcia

Lecturer

tgarcia@uwlax.edu

Dean of Communications & Behavioral Sciences at Elgin Community College, Illinois 

SAA Courses Taught:
704

Robin Hart Ruthenbeck

Robin Hart Ruthenbeck

Lecturer

rhartruthenbeck@uwlax.edu

Dean of Students at Kenyon College

Specialty areas:
Specific areas of interest include new student transition, belonging, first-generation and underrepresented students, equity and inclusion and student accessibility.

SAA Courses Taught:
720, 730

Andrew Ives

Andrew Ives

Lecturer

aives@uwlax.edu
608.785.6902

Director of ACCESS Center at UWL 

Specialty areas:

Students with Disabilities. Disability Accommodations. Student support. Academic Advising. Student Distress. Campus and Community Referrals

SAA Courses Taught: 
700

Charissa Jakusz

Charissa Jakusz

Lecturer

cjakusz@uwlax.edu

Director of Title IX & Compliance at UWL

Specialty areas:

Higher Education Law, Student Development, Restorative Justice, Title IX, Conduct, Diversity, Inclusion & Social Justice, and Compliance

SAA Courses Taught: 
730

Saby Labor

Saby Labor

Lecturer

slabor@uwlax.edu

Curriculum Developer & Content Coach. Founder at Resilient Campus

SAA Courses Taught:
700, 708

Heidi Lang

Heidi Lang

Lecturer

hlang@uwlax.edu

Associate Director of Social Education at the Wisconsin Union, UW-Madison

Specialties:  Student leadership and engagement; student activities and program planning; sense of belonging; first-generation college students.

SAA Courses Taught:
720

 


Anh Le

Lecturer

ale@uwlax.edu

International Student Success Navigator, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

SAA Courses Taught:
706, 720

Heidi Levine

Heidi Levine

Lecturer

hlevine@uwlax.edu

Vice President for Student Development and Planning at Simpson College 

Specialty areas:
College Mental Health & Counseling, Higher Education Leadership, and Crisis Management.

SAA Courses Taught: 
840

Louis Macias

Louis Macias

Lecturer

lmacias@uwlax.edu 

Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin - Madison

Specialty areas: diversity, equity and inclusion, strategic planning and leadership, student program development, policy and process improvement.

SAA Courses Taught: 
865

Kristen McKinney

Kristen McKinney

Lecturer

kmckinney@uwlax.edu

Chief of Staff/Chief Financial Officer for the Graduate Division at The University of California - Los Angeles 

Specialty areas:
Institutional research and assessment.
Research on student experiences and outcomes, particularly related to co-curricular experiences and well-being.

SAA Courses Taught:
835, 845

Stacy Narcotta-Welp

Stacy Narcotta-Welp

Lecturer

snarcotta-welp@uwlax.edu

Interim Assistant Vice Chancellor, Diversity & Inclusion at UWL

Specialty areas:
Leadership development training and instruction, including Strengths-based Leadership, Culturally Intelligent Leadership, and NCBI workshops.

Adjunct Instructor, The University of Iowa Leadership Studies Department.

SAA Courses Taught: 
704

Darrel Renier

Darrel Renier

Lecturer

drenier@uwlax.edu

Director, Office of Academic Advising and Retention at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay

Specialty Areas: Academic advising, higher education administration and leadership, student retention and success, first-generation college students, academic and student affairs collaboration

SAA Courses Taught:
720

Kerri Smith

Kerri Smith

Lecturer

ksmith2@uwlax.edu

Assistant Director of Faculty Programs at New York University

Specialty areas:
Faculty and student affairs partnerships, assessment, residence life & housing services. 

SAA Courses Taught:  
825

Tawny Townsend

Tawny Townsend

Lecturer

ttownsend@uwlax.edu

Tenured Faculty, Advising and College Success at Everett Community College (WA)

Specialty areas:
college student retention, persistence, and completion; orientation and first-year experience; academic advising; first-generation college students; community colleges; international education

SAA Courses Taught:
720

Mary Beth Vahala

Mary Beth Vahala

Lecturer

mvahala@uwlax.edu

Associate Director of University Centers at UWL

SAA Courses Taught: 
760, 775

Dina Zavala

Dina Zavala

Lecturer

dzavala@uwlax.edu 

Asst Vice Chancellor of Diversity & Inclusion at UWL

SAA Courses Taught: 
702

Members of our community who are not listed individually above include:

  • the many alumni who support our program in numerous ways, including volunteering their time to assist with recruiting, generously donating scholarships, and advancing our field in their positions, or
  • the site supervisors at UWL and several other campuses who support master's students in graduate assistantships or practicum, or
  • the many graduate faculty affiliated with our department who graciously support our doctoral students by serving on dissertation committees.

To connect with our broader communities, find us on Facebook or LinkedIn.