Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Mary Croughan today (Sept. 27) announced the appointment of Malisa Lee as vice provost of Enrollment Management, effective Nov. 1.

Lee has worked in higher education for more than 15 years, including 10 years as a leader in enrollment management, the last eight as associate vice president at California State University, Fresno, and two years before that as assistant vice chancellor at the University of Nebraska, Omaha, where she also served as director of undergraduate admissions for a year.

“She has had oversight of admissions, recruitment and outreach, as well as overseeing the registrar, financial aid and several other aspects of enrollment management,” Croughan said. “So Malisa already has exceptional experience in enrollment management that will enable her to ably lead this critical campus office at UC Davis.

“She will be on the front line of our student success and equitable outcomes efforts to ensure an academically strong, engaged and diverse student body that is well prepared to succeed at UCD and beyond.”

National search

Lee’s appointment culminates a national search for a successor to Don Hunt, who departed in mid-2021 to become senior vice provost for Enrollment Management and Services at North Carolina State University.

Croughan expressed her appreciation to Deborah Agee, executive director of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships since 2014, for serving as interim associate vice chancellor of Enrollment Management. The provost stated: “Deb not only kept our offices running well, but she also enhanced our activities through strategic investments and initiatives.  We are greatly appreciative of her contributions and continued partnership.”

The UC Davis vice provost for Enrollment Management is accountable for meeting annual campus outreach objectives and enrollment targets for new undergraduate students and achieving campus goals that enhance the diversity of the student body and the prominence of UC Davis nationally and internationally.

The vice provost oversees a complex set of departments, including Undergraduate Admissions, Enrollment Management Analytics, Student Financial Aid and Scholarships, and the Office of the University Registrar.

She’s been here before

“This is a full-circle moment for me,” Lee said about coming to UC Davis, as it “was the first college campus I visited as a teenager, when my brother enrolled, and it forever transformed my family’s life.”

“As a first-generation college student, I know the impact of a UC education, and I look forward to working with the campus community to recruit and enroll talented students,” she said.

Lee herself attended UC Santa Barbara, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology and Asian American studies. She went on to earn a Master of Education degree from the University of Southern California and a Ph.D. in higher education with a concentration in public policy from the University of Michigan.

"My family and I are very excited to join the Aggie family!"

‘Steadfast commitment’

At CSU Fresno, she reports to Carolyn Coon, interim vice president for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, who, in announcing Lee’s departure, noted her “steadfast commitment to student success” — as evidenced by her reducing administrative barriers, championing new technologies and tools, opening the Veterans Resource Center, implementing the Bulldog Retention Grant, and coordinating the administration of more than $90 million in pandemic relief grants.

She also led initiatives to expand and increase access to college, resulting in five five-year federal TRIO grants for educational opportunity in the Fresno area.

Outside of her day-to-day job responsibilities at Fresno State, Lee has mentored staff and graduate students and served on thesis/dissertation committees. She was treasurer of the Asian Faculty and Staff Association from 2019 until completing her term this year.

“We look forward to having her join the Aggie family,” Croughan added.