University to Launch Search for Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Campus Life

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The university will launch a search for a new vice chancellor for student affairs and campus life following Enku Gelaye’s announcement that she will be leaving the position in June 2019.

Gelaye has been appointed vice president and dean of campus life at Emory University in Atlanta. Gelaye joined UMass Amherst in 2011 as dean of students and was subsequently appointed vice chancellor in 2014. She provided leadership in the areas of residential life; multicultural advancement; counseling and psychological health; student success, engagement, and leadership; as well as parent and student programs.

Gelaye said, “It has been an honor working with all of you since joining the UMass Amherst community almost eight years ago. Together, we embarked on a journey to sustain the work of the many staff and student leaders before us and to reimagine the role we play in the success of both our students and the entire university. Through your dedication and expertise, we redefined a Student Affairs and Campus Life division that provides our students with the academic, co-curricular, and personal support they need to succeed to graduation and beyond. I could not be more proud to have been part of this effort, and I thank each one of you for the trust you put in me.”

She added, “While my tenure on this campus has been immensely fulfilling, it is time for me, both professionally and personally, to take this next step and I am excited for the challenges ahead.”

In the coming weeks, a national search will be launched. The search committee, chaired by John McCarthy, provost and senior vice chancellor for academic affairs, will work with the executive search firm Witt/Kieffer, with the goal of having new leadership in place by July 1.