On Aug. 16, Lisa Zapata, senior associate vice chancellor in the Division of Academic and Student Affairs (DASA), was named interim vice chancellor for DASA, after Mike Mullen abruptly resigned from this role. Technician sat down with Zapata and asked her about her goals and future plans for the division.
Zapata said that DASA will continue with big projects, such as the Academic Success Center, Housing Master Plan, Greek Village Redevelopment and the Wellness and Recreation Center.
What are some of the goals you have or what do you want to accomplish as the Interim Vice Chancellor?
I’m really excited about this opportunity. We are a really strong division … our mission is to promote the success of the whole student body, and so I think we’ve done a very good job of that. As you’ve seen, there has been an increase in retention rates and graduation rates. Everyone across campus is responsible for that, and I think the division has had a strong hand in that success. We are really proud of the impact we had… and I want to continue to build on that success. We’ve got great leaders within our division. We are poised, we want to keep moving forward and to keep promoting the success of the whole student.
You are also the Senior Associate Vice Chancellor of Student Development, Health and Wellness. How will your work with this department change? Or as Interim Vice Chancellor, is there more you can do for this department that you couldn’t do before since you have stepped into this role?
A lot of times, we are asked to step up and take additional responsibilities, so for me, it is a real privilege to be asked. I’ve worked at NC State for 21 years and before that, another 2 years as a grad assistant… I’ve got a long history and to be able to serve in this role now is a huge privilege. So, I will continue my current responsibilities in addition to my new ones. The great thing is that we have outstanding leadership. So I’ll ask them to step up a little bit, to pitch in more, and everyone is absolutely willing and eager to take on that challenge. I think everyone will dig a little deeper, work a little harder. We always have that end goal of promoting student success.
What are one or two departments under DASA that you think could use the most improvements and how will you facilitate this growth?
That’s a good question, and I don’t think I can answer that yet. I’ve been in this role six days, so I am trying to learn more about the units…But, I think everyone could use improvements. We have a lot of opportunities to. We have several large projects in the works, and so we are excited about seeing that growth over the year.
Can you expand on these larger projects?
We got the Academic Student Success Center, which is a partnership with University Libraries…We also have the Greek Village development that continues. We also have the University Housing Plan and University Wellness and Recreation Center. So, if you are down there by Carmichael or Talley, you can see the Wellness and Recreation Center coming out of the ground, and we are super excited about the opportunities that’s going to provide the entire campus… We know the students have to be well in order to be successful in the classroom and in order to graduate.
What happened the day you got appointed to the role as Interim Vice Chancellor? What was the process?
The provost asked me to come talk to him. We had the conversation, and when he asked me to serve in the interim role, I immediately said yes. Again, I just love NC State. I love what we do, what we stand for. So, anything I can do to help lead this institution during this time, I want to do. Again, it is a wonderful opportunity for me, and I feel very privileged and honored to have this opportunity.
Do you have any comment on Mike Mullen and his resignation?
My comment is that we, as an institution, as the division of academic and student affairs, are extremely grateful for what he did for NC State, for us, and for our students.
Has an official search committee started for the position?
No, an official search committee has not started yet. Everything has happened very quickly in the last week and when I met with the Provost and he asked me to serve in this role, and also to ask Brett Smith to serve as Interim Dean, he let me know that the plan is to post the position this fall and then work for the search. Hopefully, we will have someone in place for the next fall. Timing can always be tricky, but that is the plan. So, looking at about a year during this transition time. We are really excited to post the position and finding just the right person to fill the role.
Will you be applying for the permanent position?
You know, it’s day number six, so I don’t know what that’s going to look like. Right now, I’m just thrilled to be doing what I’m doing.
