Apr 25, 2008
Marisa Alicea Named New Dean of DePaul University's School for New Learning
DePaul University has appointed 21-year DePaul veteran Marisa Alicea as the new dean of the School for New Learning (SNL), a leader in adult student learning since 1972.
“Marisa has a proven track record of leadership and a firm commitment to both DePaul’s and the School for New Learning’s mission of serving adult learners,” Provost Helmut Epp said. “She is a natural choice for this position, and I am confident she will strengthen the school’s mission while maintaining the excellence that defines the school.”
Alicea brings a wealth of experience as an educator and administrator to the deanship, having served as the interim SNL dean since July 2007 and in a number of leadership positions in the school and throughout the university. As interim dean, she has been guiding SNL through a comprehensive program review designed to refine and update the strong, original concept of the school. Under her guidance, SNL has enhanced its distance learning program so that its students, who are age 24 or older, can complete a degree online from anywhere in the world. The school also has capitalized on DePaul’s suburban campuses, making a DePaul education available to adults who live or work south, west or northwest of the city.
As interim dean, Alicea encouraged greater faculty participation in decision making, and she strengthened the curriculum and pool of faculty while at the O’Hare Campus in Des Plaines, Ill. In 2006 she was named a Vincent de Paul Professor, an honor that recognizes top teachers. Alicea began her tenure at DePaul as associate director of the Center for Latino Research and as a lecturer in DePaul’s sociology department. From there, she moved to SNL where she has served in a variety of roles, including associate professor, director of undergraduate programs at the O’Hare campus and associate dean for curriculum and instruction. Prior to joining DePaul, she lectured at Northwestern University and worked as a graduate research fellow in Northwestern’s Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research. She earned a Ph.D. in sociology from Northwestern University and writes and teaches about issues related to U.S. Latinos.
As SNL dean, Alicea leads one of the first schools in the nation created to serve the specific needs of adult students. SNL has earned a national reputation for offering innovative, adult-focused curricula and degree programs. SNL is expressly designed to meet the needs of older students balancing work, family and school. One of SNL’s most unique features is that it allows students to receive class credit for life experience.
In addition to its presence on DePaul’s Loop and suburban campuses, SNL offers programs at several U.S. corporations as well as in Nairobi, Kenya, and Bangkok, Thailand.
“I am honored to be given the opportunity to nurture and lead a school and faculty that has set a unique course to address the needs of adults,” Alicea said. “I look forward to helping them reach their educational goals.”
Alicea plans to continue SNL’s drive to create several new degree completion and joint degree programs with other colleges at DePaul, such as the two programs she helped spearhead in the past year: a bachelor of arts for early childhood educators with the School of Education, and the bachelor of arts in general business with the College of Commerce. “Our students like what we have to offer, and this will provide them even more opportunities.”