The Division of Student Affairs has completed a strategic planning process that resulted in a reorganization of the Division of Student Affairs, including the addition of three people to the senior leadership team. Kelly Haag, chief student affairs officer, recently shared the news:

Hello –

I’m excited to share with you all that we’ve reached an important stage in the organizational growth and development of the Division of Student Affairs. After 2 ½ years, we have concluded our strategic planning process and finalized both our organizational structure and our Student Affairs Leadership Team.

I invite you to review our Division of Student Affairs Strategic Plan and explore our Divisional Priorities and page 2 of the Strategic Plan itself for a brief summary. It is my hope that you will see a work product that reflects inclusive and thoughtful engagement and a commitment to integrating our work with all of you as we support our students.

Over the course of 2020, we have added three members to our senior leadership team, also known as the Student Affairs Leadership Team:

• Dr. Kelly Ball is serving as our inaugural Director of Student Learning, Assessment, and Planning and is responsible for coordinating and evaluating the division’s contributions to student learning, student retention, experiential learning, divisional strategic planning and assessment. Kelly most recently served as the Institutional Researcher at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College and collaborated with teams to measure the effectiveness of student success initiatives and translate the findings for multiple audiences. In her time at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, she chaired a cross-functional committee that helped to improve Northeast Wisconsin Technical College’s “culture of assessment,” focusing on an “improving” (growth-focused) rather than “proving” (justification-focused) mindset and recently chaired an assessment team that will work with leadership to measure changes in student behavior as the College moves from three terms to five eight-week academic sessions each year.  Kelly has spent thirteen years helping colleges develop and submit grant proposals for government and private funding, totaling tens of millions of dollars, and has co-authored two reference books on successful grant seeking. Kelly has worked at a large private university, a large public research university, a small private college, and a two-year technical college and is passionate that higher education can bring about transformative change.
• Nolan Davis is serving as our inaugural Executive Director for Student Life & Services, responsible for responsible for leading student-centered Divisional efforts that foster a culture of excellence and quality service orientation within all areas of responsibility.  Nolan provides direct leadership, management and oversight of the following Divisional departments: University Housing, Student Union, Retail Services, Children’s Learning Center, and divisional Human Resources, Finance, and Information Technology.  Nolan was most recently an independent consultant specializing in student affairs, student success, and user interface design for online software companies.  He also serves as an executive coach and career planning consultant.  Nolan’s experience encompasses a broad range of institutions including public and private campuses with enrollments ranging from 1,200 to 26,000.  These institutions include commuter and residential, single campus and multi-campus, a historically black college, urban and rural campuses, small colleges, comprehensive teaching universities, and Research I institutions.  Prior to joining us, Nolan held a number of senior leadership positions including vice chancellor for student affairs and senior associate vice chancellor for Elizabeth City State University.  He also served as the interim vice president for student affairs, associate vice president, and chief diversity officer at Indiana State University.  Nolan’s professional areas of focus are exceptionally well-suited to the position.  Those areas include student life programming, co-curricular & student success partnerships, fiscal management, information technology, facility management, and human resources.  He holds a bachelor’s degree from Western Carolina University in political science and a master’s degree from Northeastern Illinois university in political science and public administration.
• Michael Rogers is serving as our inaugural Director of Advocacy & Engagement and will work across the Division and institution to advocate for the equity and inclusion priorities held within the Division of Student Affairs and identified by the University; with primary functions of providing leadership to the Centers for Advocacy and Student Engagement (CASE) staff, sharing expertise and coaching for divisional equity and justice initiatives; collaborating and creating strong partnerships within the University and out into the community to support students in their educational success. Michael is a proud native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and most recently served as the Director of Student Inclusion and Diversity at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. For the past 12 years, Michael’s work focused on helping individuals understand social identities (race, gender, class, etc.) and the historical implications behind why certain groups face oppression and marginalization. Michael received his bachelor’s degree from Augustana with an emphasis on law, political science, and history. Michael received his master’s degree from Western Illinois University with an emphasis on counseling, human development, organizational leadership and social justice. Most recently, Michael completed training with the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Institute in partnership with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Michael has recently led presentations and workshops at the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE), Penn State University, Associated Colleges of Illinois and the Council of Independent Colleges. Michael is a champion for social justice and equity and helping others understand the power and importance of this work, and is excited to become a part of the UWM community and to work with and for students.

Thank you for your meaningful and ongoing support of our efforts.

Kelly Haag
Chief Student Affairs Officer
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee