Stanford announced that it had filled three new positions in Student Affairs on May 9. Among the hires were Emelyn dela Peña as associate vice provost for inclusion, community and integrative learning and two associate deans of students, Rosalind Conerly and Elvira Prieto.
Conerly and Prieto will also serve as the directors of the Black Community Services Center and El Centro Chicano y Latino, respectively.
In addition to supporting and mentoring black women in academia, Conerly will help guide black students through their academic journeys at Stanford. Conerly previously served as a director of the Center for Black Cultural and Student Affairs at the University of Southern California (USC) and as an assistant professor at USC’s Rossier School of Education.
Elvira Prieto ’96 is the current resident fellow of Casa Zapata as well as the former associate director of El Centro Chicano y Latino and former resident fellow at Casa Naranja. She is also the self-published author of “An (Im)possible Life,” an autobiographical collection of poetry and prose.
“I give my best to provide our students with the support they need not only to survive, but to thrive and excel at Stanford and to know that through their own achievement they can be of service to the most vulnerable in our local, national and global communities,” she said.
Emelyn dela Peña was appointed first associate vice provost to lead Student Affairs’ “efforts to support students’ sense of community and belonging” and create an inclusive community of integrated learning. She will lead Student Affairs organizations such as Equity, Community and Leadership, Student Activities and Leadership, Fraternity and Sorority Life, BEAM Career Education, the diversity education office, the Diversity and First-Gen Office and the Stanford Band. Before joining Stanford, dela Pena served as assistant dean for equity, diversity and inclusion at Harvard University and Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Dean of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion at Washington University in St. Louis.
Vice Provost for Student Affairs Susie Brubaker-Cole said that dela Peña garners support and trust from students through her belief in the importance of representing marginalized students both inside and outside the academic field.
“Many who met her during her campus interviews commented on her warmth, candor, approachability, sense of humor and humility,” Brubaker-Cole said.
This report has been updated to reflect the fact that Elvira Prieto is the current resident fellow of Casa Zapata.
Contact Yusra Arub at yusraarub19 ‘at’ mittymonarch.com.