Charge

GREAT expects to positively impact graduation rates and achievement gaps while maintaining student access to an engaging, high-quality education. GREAT will provide recommendations to the President and inform the campus community on strategies that will position the University to accomplish the following priority goals related to the Board of Trustees and Chancellor’s Office system-wide Graduation Initiative (GI) 2025:

  • improve Freshmen 4-year graduation rate and 6-year graduation rates;
  • eliminate the achievement gaps in graduation rates for underrepresented minority and Pell-eligible students; and
  • improve Transfer 2-year and 4-year graduation rates.

Specifically, GREAT will:

  • identify and examine barriers to improving graduation rates;
  • examine evidence of effectiveness in multiple existing programs designed to improve student success on our campus, as well as elsewhere;
  • make recommendations to the President and inform the campus community on initiatives/programs/services to meet the University’s priority goals related to GI 2025; and
  • oversee strategic implementation, assessment, and dissemination of the outcomes for these initiatives/programs/services for student success. 

Timeline

The GREAT Team is intended to be an ongoing entity through 2025, with specific goals and milestones identified on an annual basis, at the direction of the President.

Members

  • Richard Ogle, Co-chair, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
  • Christine Erickson, Co-chair, Vice President for Student Affairs
  • Ellen Junn, President
  • Michael Bice, Chair and Professor, Mathematics
  • Lisa Bernardo, Director, Enrollment Services/Registrar
  • Kari Knutson Miller, Dean, Extended and International Education
  • Juanita Cruthird-Billups, Director, Student Support Services
  • Rafael Espinosa, Associate Vice President and Chief Information Officer
  • Bill Potter, Interim Dean, College of Science
  • Keith Nainby, Faculty Director of Advising and Learning Cohorts, Professor, Communication Studies
  • Terence Pitre, Dean, College of Business Administration
  • Miguel Pulido, Director, Admissions and Outreach Services
  • Faimous Harrison, Dean, Stockton Center
  • Rose McAuliffe, Vice President, Business and Finance
  • Gitanjali Kaul, Vice President, Strategic Planning, Enrollment Management, and Innovation
  • Erin Littlepage, Student Success & Community Partnerships Specialist, Office of the Provost
  • Destiny Suarez President, Associated Students Inc.
  • Stephen Routh, Associate Dean, College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
  • Bradley Porfilio, Dean, College of Education, Kinesiology, and Social Work
  • Gabriela Nuño, Director, Academic Success Center
  • Neisha Rhodes, Director for Presidential Initiatives, Office of the President
  • Ronald Rodriguez, Dean of Library Services
  • Rosalee Billingslea Rush, Senior Associate Vice President for Communications, Marketing and Media Relations
  • Jennifer Humphrey, AVP of Operations, Planning and Assessment, Student Affairs
  • Jim Tuedio, Dean, College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
  • Brandon Price, AVP, Student Success
  • John Wittman, Chair and Professor, English
  • Stuart Wooley, AVP, Academic Affairs

Updated: April 19, 2023