After serving over five years as Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Dr. Penny Rue is leaving her administrative position at UCSD effective June 30, 2013. She will begin her new role at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. as a faculty member and Vice President for Campus Life in mid-July.
According to Rue, she will be taking this position mainly as a result of an attractive package offered by Wake Forest that will allow her to have more creativity in her new roles.
“This was a very hard decision for me; I love UCSD very much, and I have great colleagues,” Rue said. “But I was presented with a really terrific opportunity, and so with a heavy heart, I’m going to take that opportunity.”
Rue came to UCSD in Sept. 2007, and has been a leader in improving the well being of students, strengthening the campus community, promoting diversity and overseeing student services and organizations. According to a statement released by Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla, Rue was instrumental in the Student Affairs strategic planning process, administering strategic budget reductions, as well as raising over $6 million in scholarships and $18 million for Student Affairs overall.
As VC-Student Affairs, Rue initiated special programming events, such as Family Weekend and Siblings weekend, as well as communicating with individual students and initiating student leader lunches.
Rue also worked closely with Alumni Affairs and the Office of Research Affairs, and helped in creating the award-winning Institute on Building Communities for Social Justice Practice along with the Campus Community Centers and the Diversity Working Group.
In addition, under Rue’s watch, the number of student organizations increased by 30 percent and study abroad programs saw a 15 percent increase in student participation.
“I have so many memorable moments at UCSD — my first Sun God Festival was certainly an amazing, eye-opening experience,” Rue said. “The second would be Convocation, as I looked out and saw the whole university come together.”
As her last initiative before leaving UCSD in June, Rue will focus on the ongoing university-wide strategic planning process that will continue throughout the spring and end in early June.
She will also continue to work on individual student concerns.
“UCSD is always going to be in my heart,” Rue said. “I will continue to follow the trajectory of the university, I will continue to root for it, and I will spread its news particularly on the east coast, but I won’t have formal affiliations with the university.”
