Interim President Elizabeth Armstrong; Dean of Business, Computer Studies, and Technology Dr. Jill Baker; and Interim Dean of Humanities Dr. Chris Sullivan fill their appointed offices at Mesa this semester.

Armstrong, appointed by the SDCCD, became Interim President of Mesa College on August 2 after former President Dr. Rita Cepeda departed to the San Jose-Evergreen Community College District as chancellor.

Armstrong brings years of leadership to the office she now holds. Part of her 35-year career in higher education includes 6 years as Vice President of Instruction at Mesa from 2002 until she retired in 2008, and a year as Interim VPI at Miramar College after leaving retirement in 2009.

She returned to Mesa in the midst of a changing campus under construction and shifting administration – with temporary dean, Sullivan, and new dean, Baker – with the knowledge and experience to maintain and expand the college’s esteem and leadership within the district.

Baker, Ed.D., began this semester as Dean of Business, Computer Studies, and Technology; taking the place of Interim Dean Dr. Michael Reese.

“This has been a goal I’ve been working towards for some time,” said Baker.

Sullivan, Ed.D., succeeded Acting Dean John Fohrman as Interim Dean of Humanities.

Sullivan started at Mesa in 1996 as a contract member of the English department. He completed his doctorate in Community College Leadership this spring along with Baker and 10 others in SDSU’s first cohort in this field.

“I defended my dissertation and a week later I interviewed for this position,” said Sullivan, “So it was all pretty whirlwind.”

However, Sullivan is not completely new to leadership at Mesa. He chaired the English department from 2004 to 2009 and co-authored the “Genesis Paper,” which details the development and implementation of student learning outcomes.

Baker came to Mesa with experience as an Associate Professor and Audio Visual Librarian in 2002 from the Poway Unified School District. In 2009 she received the teacher of the year award from California Association for Post-secondary Education and Disability for her work as an A.V. librarian in “universal design” – a field interested in ensuring media and equipment are readily available to every student that requires it.

“[Universal design] is something that I’ve worked on all my professional life,” said Baker.

Despite being in the grip of a financial crisis, all three new members of the administration are committed to the educational development and growth of Mesa’s students.

“We know that the students’ success is the only reason we are here,” said Sullivan.