Julie Sullivan
Test Attribution - Photo by Photographer

President Sullivan Announces Senior Administrative Reporting Structure

Dr. Julie Sullivan, who takes office today as the 15th president of St. Thomas, announces her senior administrative reporting structure for her inaugural year.

Dr. Susan Huber will serve as executive vice president and provost. She will continue to oversee Academic Affairs; also reporting to her will be the Student Affairs division led by Dr. Jane Canney, vice president, and the Information Resources and Technologies division led by Dr. Sam Levy, vice president. Huber has been executive vice president and chief academic officer since 2008 and announced last month that she will retire on June 30, 2014. A search for an executive vice president and provost to succeed Huber will begin this fall.

“I am very familiar with an executive vice president and provost structure, having held this position at the University of San Diego, and I am pleased that Sue will have this role,” Sullivan said. “Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and IRT, which includes our libraries, have worked together well at St. Thomas, and the new arrangement will allow an even closer collaboration on issues central to our educational mission.”

In addition to Huber, the following administrators, listed alphabetically, will report to Sullivan.

  • Monsignor Aloysius Callaghan, rector and vice president of the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity, who also reports to Archbishop John Nienstedt, chair of the seminary Board of Trustees.
  • Marla Friederichs, associate vice president for enrollment services
  • Steve Fritz, athletics director
  • Father John Malone, vice president for mission
  • Sara Gross Methner, general counsel and chief human resources officer
  • Mark Vangsgard, vice president for business affairs and chief financial officer.

Also, the Institutional Advancement team will report to Sullivan. Institutional Advancement works closely with the president in enabling St. Thomas to meaningfully engage with constituencies and to attract the resources necessary to realize the university's full potential in fulfilling its mission. The team is led by Doug Hennes, vice president for university and government relations; Steve Hoeppner, executive director of development; Dr. Rachel Wobschall, executive director of alumni and constituent relations; and Kristine Aasheim, executive director for institutional advancement.

The President’s Office team will continue to include Dr. Susan Alexander, executive advisor to the president; Karen Hennes, executive secretary to the president and the president emeritus, Father Dennis Dease; and Patricia Sirek, assistant to the president and the president emeritus. In addition, Dr. Linda Halverson, associate vice president for administration, is joining the team and will report to Alexander.

Sullivan decided to start her first year as president with a larger than usual number of administrators reporting directly to her because she wants to learn more about their organizations. She will refine the administrative structure following this period of study and expects some administrators to be subsequently assigned to other supervisors

“Areas such as undergraduate enrollment, athletics, development, alumni and university relations are extremely important to St. Thomas because they represent so many important constituencies,” Sullivan said. “I want to learn more about these operations. I have heard them described as our ‘front porch’ because of the way they interact with people who are important to St. Thomas, and I want to be sitting on the front porch when those people come to campus.”