New VP of Student Services

November 4, 2009 

Dear Colleagues,

I am delighted to announce the appointment of Stacey Cook, whom many of you met at the open forum last week, as our new vice president of Student Services. She very much impressed the search committee, all of my senior staff colleagues and me with her deep knowledge of — and commitment to — the vital programs of Student Services. She brings a wealth of experience and talent to De Anza, and we look forward to her joining us in January.

Stacey earned a doctorate in education from the University of San Francisco, a master's degree in public administration from the former Cal State Hayward (now Cal State East Bay), and two bachelor's degrees, in political science and ethnic studies, from UC Berkeley. She worked for 12 years at Berkeley, first in Financial Aid and later as business and operations manager in Counseling and Psychological Services. She also worked as disability-related services coordinator at the University of San Francisco and for four years as director of Student Affairs at the College of Marin. Since 2006, she has served as dean of Student Services at Woodland Community College, overseeing the offices of Admissions and Records, CalWORKS, Counseling, DSPS, EOPS, Financial Aid, Upward Bound and Veterans' Affairs. She is also administrative sponsor of the college's Diversity Committee. Stacey was a pivotal part of the team that led Woodland's successful 2006-2008 transformation from a campus to an accredited, full-fledged college.

At the heart of all this work is an unwavering commitment to the success of all students, especially those who are the first in their families to attend college and those historically underrepresented in higher education, including English-language learners and students with limited financial resources. Stacey will provide visionary leadership for the wide range of programs at De Anza that share that commitment, and she will work closely and collaboratively with colleagues across all areas of the college. When I called to offer her the position, she accepted enthusiastically and said how very pleased she is to join De Anza College and work together on a legacy of student success.

I want to thank the search committee that, with the leadership of chair Stephanie Sherman, brought Stacey forward for our consideration. My thanks, too, to all of you who participated in the open forums. Our collective efforts have led to the successful conclusion of the search, and the beginning of Stacey's collaborative, cross-college leadership. We are glad she is joining us.

Sincerely,
Brian Murphy

Back to Top