Contact:
Bruce Gerson
412-268-1613

For immediate release:
April 3, 2006

Carnegie Mellon University Names Jennifer Church Dean of Student Affairs

Jennifer Church

PITTSBURGH—Following a national search, Carnegie Mellon University has named Jennifer Church its new dean of Student Affairs. Church, who has served as interim dean since June 2005, succeeds Michael Murphy, who was promoted to associate vice president of the university last summer.

"After an extensive search, we've come to find what most of us assumed, that Jennifer Church was the best candidate for the job," said Vice President for Enrollment William Elliott. "Jennifer has been a strong advocate, advisor and counselor for our students during the past 10 years and she's become a vital member of our university community. She has proven time and again that she possesses the necessary management skills, experience, vision and compassion to create and implement the types of programs that are essential to building and enhancing our campus community."

Church joined Carnegie Mellon in July 1995 as a residence life coordinator and one year later was promoted to assistant dean of Student Affairs under Murphy. She became associate dean of Student Affairs in 2000. Prior to coming to Carnegie Mellon, Church was director of housing and student activities at Yakima Valley Community College in Yakima, Wash., and an admission counselor and sorority house director at the University of Iowa.

"It is an honor and a privilege to be selected to serve as dean of Student Affairs at Carnegie Mellon," Church said. "The Division of Student Affairs plays an important role in the university's mission to provide students an environment that supports their intellectual growth, leadership development and commitment to community. I look forward to continuing to build on the strong foundation of the division in developing a dynamic student experience that meets the needs of this highly talented student community."

Church is a member of several university committees including the President's Diversity Advisory Council and the Undergraduate Education Council. She is also a facilitator for "Emerging Leaders," for which she leads a six-week leadership course for first-year students. She is a member of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators and the American College Personnel Association.

Church earned her bachelor's degree in journalism from Arizona State University (1991) and her master's degree in higher education from Iowa (1992). Church expects to earn her Ph.D. in higher education from the University of Pittsburgh this December. Her thesis is entitled "Social Mores, Tradition and Cultural Expectation: Academic Integrity and the International Student."

A 17-member search committee chaired by Richard Tucker, professor and head of the Modern Languages Department, recommended Church. The committee, which included students, faculty, staff and administrators, received 70 applications for the position