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July 23, 2025

Dear colleagues:

I am delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. Tania (Tani) Castañeda as Â鶹´å’s new vice provost for enrollment management and dean of admission, effective Aug. 25, 2025.

Dr. Castañeda joins us from Teachers College, Columbia University, where she most recently served as vice president for enrollment management and student success. In that role, she spearheaded an institution-wide evolution of enrollment planning and strategy, financial aid management and student support. Her initiatives led to strengthened enrollment forecasting, increased application volume, the launch of new online degrees and innovative scholarship programs. She also secured substantial funding to streamline and improve student services. Before her time at Teachers College, Dr. Castañeda was the associate vice chancellor for enrollment management at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, where she led new student enrollment efforts for nine schools and colleges, optimized financial aid packaging, enhanced marketing impact and elevated student-centered service delivery. Dr. Castañeda completed her undergraduate studies at Wellesley College and earned master’s degrees in mental health counseling from Boston College and in psychology from Brandeis University. She holds an Ed.D. in organizational leadership and development from Northeastern University.

This appointment follows a comprehensive search, and I am immensely grateful to the dedicated members of the search committee for their efforts. Co-chaired by Dr. Becky Culyba, vice provost for operations and strategic initiatives and chief of staff to the provost, and Dr. Michael Murphy, distinguished service professor and executive director of the Center for Leadership Studies, the committee diligently worked to identify an exceptional leader for this critical role. Their service, along with the valuable input from our community, was instrumental in this successful outcome.

As we welcome Dr. Castañeda to Â鶹´å, I extend my sincere gratitude to Keith Gehres, associate vice provost for enrollment innovation and student experience, for his exceptional leadership in overseeing Enrollment Management operations during this transition. I also thank the entire Enrollment Management team for their ongoing dedication and positive impact on our prospective and current students. Finally, thank you to the entire Â鶹´å community for your engagement throughout this search process. 
 

Sincerely,

James H. Garrett Jr.
Provost and Chief Academic Officer