"I am humbled and honored to be joining the University of New Mexico and the Division of Student Affairs at this pivotal moment in the institution's history,” said Scott. “I was deeply moved by the passion of the team and a clear commitment to student success at UNM. I look forward to collaborating across campus to advance the student experience with a focus on equity, wellbeing, and belonging, and working together to return to a vibrant campus life that is positively experienced across the Albuquerque community and beyond.”
Scott fills the position held on an interim basis by Tim Gutierrez, who will retire from long service to UNM on June 30, 2022. Gutierrez was named interim vice president following Eliseo “Cheo” Torres, who stepped down in August 2021. Scott will start with UNM on Aug. 1, 2022.
“I thank Tim for his incredible and dedicated service to our students,” said Holloway. “He’s a credit to UNM.” Dr. Jenna Crabb, director of the Center for Career Services, will serve as the interim vice president for the month of July.
Prior to his current role at BSU, Scott served students at several institutions across the country and prioritizes the infusion of equity-minded and research-informed practices to support student success with a particular emphasis on practices that improve both outcomes and lived experiences for students in historically minoritized identities.
“Postsecondary credentials are important to the lives of individuals and the wellbeing of communities as they have been shown to be associated with more positive economic, social, and even physiological life outcomes,” shared Scott. “Historically, opportunities to obtain those credentials and the myriad of developmental experiences associated with them have been inequitably distributed in our society and it is, therefore, our moral and ethical responsibility to commit to thoughtful and intentional practices to mitigate systemic inequality.”
Throughout his career, Scott has been noted for his diverse leadership experiences with various cross-campus collaborations and inclusiveness including student involvement and leadership programs, services oriented towards student equity, welfare and support, campus recreation and housing and residence life. At BSU, he served as one of three leaders in the planning, development and execution of the university's Strategic Enrollment and Retention planning process for student success. He’s been a part of the institution’s Capital Planning and Evaluation Committee to prioritize campus capital projects and ensure institutional investment is aimed at sustaining and expanding a culture of student success.
Other leadership roles at Boise State include the representation of Student Affairs on the Sustainability Governance Council and serving as the chair of the Sustainability Engagement Committee in the STARS evaluation of campus sustainability. Scott chaired the divisional Professional Development Committee developing a new curriculum for new hire orientation, a professional mentoring program, career development plans, and equity dialogues. He has also represented BSU on the Idaho Indian Education Committee and founded the University Tribal Advisory Board alongside partners from the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes.
Prior to BSU, Scott served as the dean of Students & Campus Life and the director of Campus Life at the University of Alaska Southeast where he provided organizational leadership for 10 departments including Housing and Residence Life, Campus Recreation, Student Activities, Student Conduct, Food Services, Career Services Native and Rural Student Center, Counseling, Disability Support Services and Health Clinic.
Scott’s wide-ranging experience enabled him to also serve as chief conduct officer for the Juneau, Sitka, and Ketchikan campuses including adjudication of cases ranging from academic integrity to Title IX violations while providing support and counsel to faculty and staff on the proactive resolution of lower-level behavioral issues and concerns.
He has also provided on-call duty coverage and helped lead the Incident Management Team as the top-level Student Life administrator for responding to major campus issues. Scott also collaborated with the Title IX Coordinator on the implementation of university-wide sex and gender-based discrimination training for all students, serving as the point of contact for all students.
Scott held previous positions at the University of North Carolina Greensboro as coordinator for Residence Life (2010-2014) and the University of South Carolina as residence hall director (2008-2010).
Currently, Scott is collaborating on two book chapters focusing on student life programs and fraternity and sorority life respectively and has been sought as a reviewer for research focusing on the postsecondary experiences of rural and Indigenous students. As a first-generation college graduate and strong believer in the community mission of public postsecondary education, Scott is excited about the prospect of joining UNM as it defines and pursues the realization of “UNM 2040: Opportunity Defined.”
Scott has been professionally active serving the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators both regionally and as part of the Orientation, Transition, and Retention Knowledge Community. Scott is also passionate about the arts, having served three terms as the board president for the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council.
Scott holds a doctorate in education from Oregon State University with research focused on how intersections between race, gender, and rurality manifest in postsecondary outcomes for students from rural remote Alaska. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master’s in Education (ME) from the University of South Carolina.
