Updated Jan. 16 at 9:25 a.m.
Eric Estes will take on the role of vice president for campus life and student services beginning July 1, wrote President Christina Paxson P’19 in a community-wide email Thursday. Estes currently serves as Oberlin College’s vice president and dean of students, Paxson wrote.
As vice president for campus life and student services, Estes will oversee more than a dozen offices and centers, including the Brown Center for Students of Color, Counseling and Psychological Services and Residential Life, according to the University’s website.
Former Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services Margaret Klawunn vacated the position when she stepped down in August to become vice chancellor at the University of California at Santa Barbara. The search for a new vice president has been active since June and was conducted by a 10-member selection committee comprised of administrators, faculty members and undergraduate and graduate students.
“The process of identifying candidates was very thorough,” wrote Nancy Barnett, chair of the committee and professor of behavioral and social sciences in an email to The Herald. “We recognize how important this position is for the campus as a whole and were very focused on serving the community well by identifying the candidates who we thought would bring thoughtful leadership.
Paxson thanked MaryLou McMillan, senior director for planning and student engagement, and Mary Grace Almandrez, associate dean of the College, for their ongoing service as interim assistant vice presidents for campus life and student services during the vice presidential vacancy this academic year.
Estes holds a bachelor’s degree from Trinity College and a PhD in history from Syracuse University. Before moving to Oberlin, Estes lectured at Duke University, where he chaired the President’s University Task Force on LGBT Matters and served on the President’s Commission on the Status of Women, according to Oberlin’s website.
“Eric has the experience, vision and drive that will serve the division very well,” Barnett wrote. “As a faculty member who works closely with Campus Life on issues of behavioral health, I am delighted that he will be coming to Brown and look forward to having him as a close colleague.”
Estes joined Oberlin in 2004 as associate dean of students and director of the Multicultural Resource Center, Paxson wrote. At Oberlin, Estes was an “effective advocate for diversity and inclusion,” Paxson wrote. He has earned professional certification in affirmative action and social justice mediation.
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