Sarah Phillips Named VP of Enrollment Management & Student Affairs
Pacific University is pleased to officially announce Dr. Sarah Phillips’ appointment as vice president of enrollment management and student affairs.
Phillips — a longtime member of the Pacific community — brings to this role a wealth of experience in serving the needs of college students. She spent her formative years in Southern California, largely on the Claremont Colleges campus, where her father served on the faculty.
She is a 1986 alumna of Whitman College in Washington, as well as an alumna of the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, where she earned a doctorate in sociology in 1993. After completing her post-doctorate work at Yale University Medical School in New Haven, Connecticut, she returned to the Northwest to pursue her dream as a college educator: helping young people identify their life’s passion and purpose.
At Pacific, she has done so as both a teacher and administrator. She has been a member of Pacific’s faculty since 1995, as a professor of sociology, with additional research and teaching expertise in anthropology, gender and sexuality studies, public health, and social work.
She served as director of the School of Social Sciences and as an associate dean in the College of Arts & Sciences and the College of Business. She went on to a 16-month stint as interim dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, a role that was made permanent in 2018.
In 2020, she stepped up to serve as interim vice president of enrollment management, and in 2022, that role expanded to include leading student affairs. She led Pacific’s student support systems through the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the transformation and streamlining of admissions processes for students. She was also a leader in the creation of the Pacific Priority program, which provides guaranteed pathways to graduation and graduate school for Pacific students.
“Dr. Phillips has been instrumental in identifying ways to increase student access to the Pacific experience and in growing our support systems for Pacific students both throughout and in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said President Jenny Coyle. “As we embark on our new strategic plan for the future of Pacific University, her creativity and leadership will be at the heart of ensuring that our students thrive.”
Jaye Cee Whitehead continues to serve as interim dean of the College of Arts & Sciences. Conversations about the permanent leadership in the College of Arts & Sciences are underway, and more information will be shared in the coming months.