News 2021: UMass Dartmouth announces new Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs

Chancellor Fuller appointed Dr. Kimberly M. Scott as Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, effective January 10, 2022

Dear UMass Dartmouth Community,

I am pleased to announce that Dr. Kimberly M. Scott will become UMass Dartmouth’s next Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, effective January 10, 2022. Among a very strong pool of finalists in our national search, I was deeply impressed by Dr. Scott’s depth of experience in leading student affairs teams, as well as the strong partnerships she has built with faculty and academic affairs to promote student success. Throughout her career, Dr. Scott has demonstrated a student-centered, collaborative and data-driven approach to enhancing the student experience, always cultivating strong relationships with the student body and creating a supportive and energizing team environment for her staff.

Dr. Scott currently serves as Vice President for Student Affairs at the renowned Tuskegee University, a private, historically Black and culturally inclusive university in Tuskegee, Alabama. Here at UMass Dartmouth, she will lead our student affairs division as the university strives to enliven the student experience, better respond to the needs of today’s students and foster a campus climate where all students can live, learn and thrive.

At Tuskegee, Dr. Scott led the development of the Division of Student Affairs strategic plan with an emphasis on shaping departments to enhance customer service, promoting students’ well-being, and increasing leadership and service learning programs and opportunities. She also expanded diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, including the establishment of a DEI Committee and a peer leaders program, and developed initiatives for parents, families and guardians. Dr. Scott also collaborated extensively with Tuskegee’s provost and academic deans to ensure alignment between the curriculum, orientation programs, and co-curricular and career pathway initiatives.

Prior to her tenure at Tuskegee, Dr. Scott served as the Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management & Student Affairs at Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; as the Vice President and Dean of Students at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania; and as the Dean of Students at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. She earned her Ph.D. in higher education at Ohio University, and also holds an M.A. in educational administration from the University of Akron and a B.A. from Ashland College, where she majored in philosophy and sociology.

I want to thank the search committee members, and especially co-chairs Shannon Jenkins, Associate Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, and Robert Jones, Associate Provost for Undergraduate and Faculty Affairs, for their dedication in guiding this search and elevating its importance in our campus community. I would also like to thank the rest of the faculty, staff and students on the search committee, who represented a broad cross-section of our campus community, for their very thoughtful approach to identifying candidates who could lead our student affairs program forward.

I’m also grateful to our partners at Storbeck Search, who worked diligently to source an incredibly diverse pool of highly qualified candidates who had the potential to have a positive impact on our campus. Finally, I would like to warmly thank Deputy Chancellor Mark Preble for his leadership as Interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs since last April.

Please join me in welcoming Dr. Scott to the UMass Dartmouth community. I look forward to all of you getting to know her in the new year.

Best,

Mark A. Fuller, PhD

Chancellor