Mike Walsh, a dedicated student affairs leader and champion for the student experience, has been named vice president for student affairs at the University of Mary Washington. With work spanning five universities of varied missions and magnitudes, he brings a focus on the foundation of care for all learners to succeed and make a difference in the world. He will join UMW in the vice president role on July 10.
“Mike Walsh brings a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of student needs, which will be invaluable as we continue to prioritize experiential learning and student engagement,” said UMW President Troy Paino. “Our students are at the center of everything we do, including activities beyond the classroom, and the new vice president for student affairs will serve a crucial role in expanding these opportunities and ensuring that every student has access to transformative experiences that prepare them for success after graduation.”
Walsh comes to Mary Washington most recently from the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU), where he served as vice provost for student affairs. In that role, he created what is now the Office of Student Affairs, encompassing nine areas that center and champion the student experience. Among his initiatives there, he co-founded or provided the leadership for the Center for Learner Diversity and Inclusion, the Academic Success Center, the Student CARE Program, the emergency funds program, OHSU’s first Housing program, increases in healthcare pathway development programs, an increase in student engagement activities and the introduction of a new student services assessment process.
Prior to OHSU, he served as Portland State University’s (PSU) associate vice provost and dean of student life, fostering student success and engagement through direction of a diverse set of programs, including Student Success Advocacy, Housing, Residence Life, Dining, the CARE Program, Threat Assessment, Title IX administration, Student Conduct, the Basic Needs Hub and Emergency Housing.
Walsh is a previously certified Title IX Coordinator, civil rights, and Title IX investigator. He served on the Oregon Attorney General’s Sexual Assault Task Force for many years, focusing on college campuses and prevention. In addition, he served on the advisory board for the PSU Student Landing, Oregon’s first homeless shelter dedicated to college students. He is also a founding member of the Coalition to House Students, which focuses on creative solutions for solving the college student housing insecurity problem. He frequently presents on topics such as de-escalation strategies, student housing insecurity, and the role of advising and faculty relationships toward student success.
Nationally, he serves on the Vice President for Student Affairs Initiatives Committee for the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) to implement the convention programs. He has served on the national leadership team of the American College Personnel Association (ACPA).
Walsh grew up in Virginia, living in in Jerusalem, Israel, for the last two years of high school before graduating from the College of William and Mary with a bachelor’s degree in history. He earned a master’s degree in education in Higher Education and Student Affairs at the University of Vermont. He earned a doctorate at Portland State University in postsecondary and adult education, with a dissertation studying learner attitudes and experience with advising and faculty relationships.
He will bring that knowledge and insight to Mary Washington, shared with a focus on the students, health and wellness, engagement and care.
“I focus on nurturing the ethical ideal of caring because ‘everything we do … as teachers has moral overtones and through dialogue, modeling, the provision of practice, and the attribution of the best motive, the ‘one-caring’ as teacher nurtures the ethical ideal.’ (Noddings, 1984, p. 179). The ethic of care is so central to my work and is what attracted me back to Virginia and the University of Mary Washington, for it seems to me the students we teach and support at Mary Wash are poised – indeed already serve – as the best models of care for others in our society.”
In addition to welcoming a new vice president for student affairs, UMW has established a new position – associate vice president for health and wellness – envisioned by prior VPSA Juliette Landphair, who will transition to the new role beginning in July.
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