Third candidate for vice provost for student success on campus this week

LAWRENCE -- The third finalist for the position of vice provost of the Office for Student Success at the University of Kansas will be on campus Monday and Tuesday to interview and participate in two open forums.

Marlesa A. Roney, vice president for student affairs at the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio, will be featured in an open student forum from 5 to 6 p.m. Monday, March 31, in the Kansas Room of the Kansas Union. An open faculty and staff forum will be from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 1, in the union's Alderson Auditorium.

Roney is one of five candidates under consideration for vice provost for student success, a position that formerly was titled vice provost for student support. The new title becomes effective in July.

Prior to her appointment at the University of Akron in 2000, Roney served as the registrar and later the senior project officer for Lilly Endowment Retention Initiatives at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.

She received her doctoral degree in student personnel administration in 1985 from Purdue University. She earned her master's and undergraduate degrees from Kansas State University.

Roney has been a member of several committees for the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers and the Association for Institutional research.

She also is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi national honor societies and Psi Chi, a national honor society in psychology.

The Office for Student Success will include both academic and student services as recommended by a reorganization task force and approved by Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor David Shulenburger last August. The title reflects the office's commitment to providing services that promote student retention, academic success and graduation.

The Office for Student Success includes the KU Memorial Unions, Student Health Services, Student Housing, Student Financial Aid and the Department of Student Life. The student life department includes Recreation Services, Legal Services for Students, Hilltop Child Development program, Services for Students with Disabilities, University Career and Employment Services, Counseling and Psychological Services, Multicultural Affairs, the Student Development Center, Emily Taylor Women's Resource Center, Student Organizations and Leadership Development Center, and the University Information Center. Academic Services includes Admissions and Scholarships, New Student Orientation, the Freshman-Sophomore Advising Center, the University Registrar, the Writing Center and Academic Technology Services.