Appointment of Jana Luker as Executive Director of Services for Students

Dear Colleagues,

I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Jana Luker as Executive Director of Services for Students, effective November 19, 2007.

Reporting to the Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning), the Executive Director of Services for Students plays a leadership role in fostering and enhancing the student experience at McGill. Coordinating with the Deputy Provost's team, other leaders in the McGill community and students, the Executive Director will be responsible for the strategic planning of services for students, and will ensure effective and efficient administrative structures and systems to support them. The Executive Director will work closely with the Dean of Students regarding the reorganization of current student services, ongoing issues of student well-being, crisis planning and response, and the relationship between services for students and academic issues.

Ms. Luker has significant experience in the area of services for students and was most recently the Vice-President, Student Services, at St. Francis Xavier University, where she developed a strategic plan with strong leadership in a varied and diverse sector, creating partnerships within Student Services and throughout the community. Her initiatives resulted in increased student satisfaction, engagement, recruitment and retention.

As Executive Director of Services for Students at McGill, Ms. Luker will lead an evidence-based evaluation of our current services for students and will work with the Student Services team to develop a strategic plan, which will include the creation of a First Year Transition Network, spanning administrative and academic units. She will also work with our Student Life and Learning directors to ensure a seamless coordinated approach to providing the best student experience.

At this time, I would like to acknowledge the valuable contribution of Dr. Linda Jacobs Starkey, who, after a year of service as Interim Dean of Students, served as Interim Executive Director of Services for Students for the past five months. Dr. Starkey has helped define the new position of Executive Director, and the University will continue to benefit from her considerable expertise as she returns to the position of Associate Dean of Students. We are grateful for her contributions and leadership during this period of reorganization and appreciate her continued commitment to McGill and our students.

Morton J. Mendelson, PhD
Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning)