Contact Us

DEAN'S OFFICE	Phone	Email
Gillian R. Hayes, Ph.D. Vice Provost for Graduate Education Dean of the Graduate Division Responsible for Graduate Student Academic policy, student advising and UCI Policy exceptions review, Student Academic Affairs; serves as the Graduate Council Liaison.	824-6351	hayesg@uci.edu
Jaymi Smith Associate Dean for Student Success Develops and maintains various graduate programs that lead to student success and develops funding opportunities for students as well.		jaymis@uci.edu
Rodrigo Lazo, Ph.D. Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Develops and maintains various graduate programs that lead to diversity, equity, and inclusion and develops funding opportunities for students as well.	824-2916	rlazo@uci.edu
Court Crowther, Ph.D. Assistant Dean Provides strategic planning and development of Graduate Affairs as well as oversight of the Graduate Division including International and External Relations. Project Director for DECADE PLUS program.	824-1758	crowther@uci.edu
Turner Dahl Dean's Office Analyst Provides high-level analytic, administrative, and programmatic support to the Vice Provost/Dean, Associate Dean, Assistant Dean, Senior Director of Academic Affairs, and Director of Academic Initiatives. Administers the Fletcher Jones Fellowship, Chancellor’s Club Fund for Excellence Fellowship, and Public Impact Fellowship competitions.	824-0490	tdahl@uci.edu
Latoya Wilson Executive Assistant to the Vice Provost/Dean Coordinates calendar, appointments, conference calls, meetings, travel, special projects, and communication support for the Vice Provost/Dean.	824-6763	ljwilson@uci.edu
EXTERNAL RELATIONS
Valerie Amador Executive Director of Development Oversees External Relations for UCI Graduate Division, including fundraising, alumni relations and communications	824-2247	valerie.amador@uci.edu
Raslyn Rendon Director of Alumni Relations Graduate Division’s alumni relations initiatives and oversees major Graduate Division events.	824-9169	rrendon@uci.edu
POSTDOCTORAL AFFAIRS & EXTRAMURAL SUPPORT
Celina Mojica, Ph.D. Director of Academic Initiatives Oversees the Postdoctoral Affairs Office; Outreach, Recruitment and Retention area; and coordinates the Graduate Division’s review process for new graduate programs. Also serves as the Graduate Division staff liaison to the Graduate Council, conducts research on programs and academic policy, and provides information to deans, faculty, senior staff and students regarding academic program parameters, graduate program planning, development, and administration. Plays a lead role in developing grant applications seeking funding for Graduate Division initiatives.	824-5409	cmojica@uci.edu
Kayleigh Anderson, Ph.D. Postdoctoral & Professional Development Manager Manages the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs and provides fellowship advising for the NSF GRFP, Ford and Fulbright Programs. Administers the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Researches and publicizes funding and professional development opportunities for postdoctoral scholars. Develops and implements professional development workshops and events for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars.	824-5196	kayleiga@uci.edu
Annabel Ortiz Professional Development Programs Coordinator Assist with coordinating the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs and provides support for the Grad Division and Office of Postdoctoral Affairs team. Coordinates professional development workshops for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars.	824-4960	annabelo@uci.edu
TECHNOLOGIES
James Tang IT Manager Directs strategic planning, development, and implementation of Graduate Division Information Technology services to help realize campus goals for graduate education. Functions as primary technology contact and lead developer. Serves as the Graduate Division’s Information Security Custodian	824-3406	jameswt@uci.edu
Jeff Fellows Java Application Developer	824-7898	fellowsj@uci.edu
Andrew Ouyang Programmer Analyst	824-2313	ouyanga@uci.edu
Jon Desiderio Programmer Analyst	824-6636	desiderj@uci.edu
COMMUNICATIONS
Derrick Fazendin Communications Director Directs all internal and external communication efforts for the Graduate Division. If you are a member of the media please contact Derrick.	824-8018	dfazendi@uci.edu
Nedda Bozorgmehri Communications Coordinator Collaborates with the Director of Communications to capture and share the story of graduate education, develops multimedia assets for events, advertises programs, develops content calendars and strategic marketing plans, while implementing UCI Graduate Division's overall marketing strategy.		nedda@uci.edu
ADMISSIONS & ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
Ruth Quinnan Senior Director of Admissions & Academic Affairs Directs strategic planning and policy analysis for Academic Affairs; oversees development and implementation of campus' graduate application, admissions, and enrolled systems; co-Functional Lead for the Graduate Division for campus SIS project. Oversees and reviews all academic exceptions including admissions, student progress, student status, and other policy exceptions. Directs the Graduate Academic Programs office, the Graduate Outreach, Recruitment and Diversity areas; and Postdoctoral and Extramural Affairs. Directs and provides guidance to the Graduate Academic Counselor; consults on student issues and ASE and Postdoctoral contract compliance.	824-5879	rquinnan@uci.edu
Audra Hansen Associate Director of Graduate Admissions Leads the administration and maintenance of admissions systems, including analysis and implementation of system enhancements. Manages, coordinates and analyzes policies, processes and daily operations for Graduate Admissions.	824-6602	amhansen@uci.edu
Jason Cruz Senior Admissions Analyst Manages and supervises daily admissions operations. Coordinates the processing of foreign applications and review of foreign university transcripts. Analyzes admissions processes and provides training on admissions systems.	824-4318	jcruz5@uci.edu
Megan Story Graduate Admissions Analyst Responsible for functional and technical project assistance. Analyzes and configures enhancements in the admissions systems. Provides academic units support, system training and administrative support.	824-9245	storym@uci.edu
Tiffany Kawafuchi Graduate Admissions Analyst Responsible for functional and technical project assistance. Analyzes and configures enhancements in the admissions systems. Provides academic unit support, communications and administrative support.	824-1250	tkawafuc@uci.edu
Jayne Orlowski Admissions Specialist Processes applications and verifies admissions requirements. Provides transcript analysis including processing and management. Assists with system enhancement testing.	824-2714	orlowskj@uci.edu
Zitlaly Sanchez Admissions Specialist Processes applications and verifies admissions requirements. Provides transcript analysis including processing and management. Assists with system enhancement testing.	824-7237	zitlalys@uci.edu
GRADUATE RECRUITMENT & RETENTION
VACANT Manager, Outreach, Recruitment and Retention Implements strategic graduate recruitment planning. Oversees all entering student diversity fellowships and graduate application fee waivers. Provides operations leadership for special recruitment and retention project implementation. Primary contact for the Summer Undergraduate Research Program and continuing student diversity fellowships.	824-8730
Craig Farmer Outreach and Retention Coordinator Serves as the DECADE program coordinator and oversees the Competitive Edge summer research program.	824-1281	ckfarmer@uci.edu
Mariela Menendez, MPA Outreach and Recruitment Coordinator Serves as the UC LEADS program coordinator and as the primary contact for the Summer Undergraduate Research Program. Coordinates the graduate recruitment planning and graduate preparation programs on campus. Primary contact for graduate application fee waivers.	824-1695	mmenend1@uci.edu
Phong Luong, Psy.D. Assistant Director of Academic Counseling Provides support and referral services to graduate students and post-doctoral scholars in personal distress or in need of academic counseling. Serves as a point of reference for faculty and staff in need of assistance in dealing with difficult student cases.	824-0246	pbluong@uci.edu

ENROLLMENT
Andrea Bannigan Senior Enrolled Services Analyst Provides operations and administrative support related to graduate student services. Coordinates the enrollment services including degree paperwork, advancement to candidacy, filing fee petitions, coursework petitions (transfer, waiver, substitution), changes in major, degree status changes, committee changes, assessments/reassessments, certification of degrees and re-admission.	824-1244	alanders@uci.edu
Richard Nguyen Enrolled Student Affairs Officer Provides operations and administrative support related to graduate student services. Coordinates Grad Division Forms for: Enrollment services including degree paperwork, advancement to candidacy, filing fee petitions, coursework petitions(transfer, waiver, substitution), changes in major, degree status changes, committee changes, assessments/reassessments, certification of degrees and Intercampus Exchange for all grad students.	824-7457	hrnguyen@uci.edu
Erika Wichmann Enrolled Student Affairs Officer Provides operations and administrative support related to graduate student services. Coordinates Grad Division Forms for Part-Time Study, Leave of Absence Petitions, In-Absentia, filing fee petitions, change of major and the cancellation/withdrawals process for all grad students.	824-4611	ewichman@uci.edu
GRADUATE STUDENT AFFAIRS & ALUMNI RELATIONS
Gabriella Pham International Student Support Officer Serves as the Graduate InterConnect program coordinator. Supports the academic success of the graduate international student population through program development and student advising; serves as a liaison to academic programs and faculty. Supports international graduate student recruitment efforts.	824-9295	gapham@uci.edu
Jade Turner DECADE PLUS Coordinator The DECADE PLUS Coordinator is responsible for implementing the DECADE PLUS Program. Diverse Educational Community and Doctoral Experience (DECADE) Partnering in Leadership for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) is a mentoring program geared toward improving the professional development of graduate students through mentorship of a diverse undergraduate student population. The DECADE PLUS Coordinator is responsible for organizingand implementing the day-to-day aspects, as well as the content of the program.	824-6310	jmturner@uci.edu
Karen Friedlander, M.A GPSRC Operations Manager Supervises the programmatic activities of the GPSRC including event organization, implementation, promotional efforts, and evaluation. Manages the operational needs for the facility including resource management and administrative support.	824-7914	friedlak@uci.edu
FINANCE, OPERATIONS & DATA MANAGEMENT
Dessi Pickett, Ph.D. Director of Finance, Operations & Data Management Responsible for student financial support; oversees graduate student financial support data and databases as well as coordinating enrollment management, fiscal close and operations.	824-4959	dpickett@uci.edu
Linda Cornett Chief Personnel Officer	824-9623	lcornett@uci.edu
Michelle Fielder Payroll, Personnel, and Operations Manager		mfielder@uci.edu
Lily Hoa Truong Manager of Student Databases Maintains the graduate student database (financial support, enrollments, etc.) as well as its development and maintenance; Provides graduate student tracking; financial support tracking; accounts maintenance; and fiscal close.	824-4961	lhtruong@uci.edu
Long Nguyen Finance & Institutional Data Analyst Responsible for university-funded fellowships; foreign student tax reporting and tax treaty interpretation; processing of stipends and fellowships; and coordination of centralized, non-diversity fellowship competitions.	824-3512	hnguye38@uci.edu
Robert Hoang Principal Finance & Institutional Data Analyst Provides internal analysis of student financial support and institutional data technical assistance. Student database support.	824-7231	hoangr@uci.edu
Tom Wu Senior Data Analyst Gathers and analyzes graduate student data using customized database and queries. Collates and transforms complex information from multiple sources into a single coherent dataset for better strategic analysis and reporting.	824-8076	wutk@uci.edu
Yergalem T. Meharenna, PhD Senior Training Grants Director		ymeharen@uci.edu
EMPLOYMENT AND FELLOWSHIPS
Sonia Lepe Employment and Fellowships Manager Manages the daily operations of the Graduate Student Employment area including compliance with academic policies and collective bargaining agreements, fee remissions, and UC Path. Oversees and reviews all employment and fellowship exceptions, childbirth accommodations, and childcare reimbursements. Administers internal fellowships such as the Brython Davis, Gordon Hein, James Harvey, La Verne Noyes and Miguel Velez fellowships, as well as external merit-based fellowships (e.g., ARCS, Google, NSF GRFP), travel abroad fellowships (Fulbright-Hays, DAAD) and the Phi Beta Kappa international scholarship.	824-8120	slepe1@uci.edu
Mary Rose Cruz Senior Analyst, Graduate Student Employment Coordinates graduate student employment and advises on academic and employment policies. Analyzes all graduate student financials specifically for employment remission and funding, including UCPath and Grad Aid reconciliation. Reviews all employment exceptions. Coordinates annual ASE projections.	824-9102	mrcruz1@uci.edu

General inquiries	email grad@uci.edu or dial the front desk at (949) 824-4611
Graduate admissions and application questions	Contact Graduate Admissions
School/program specific related inquiries	please visit the Graduate Degree Programs page

Contact Us

Address

Hours of Operation

Graduate Division Staff Directory

DEAN'S OFFICE

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

POSTDOCTORAL AFFAIRS & EXTRAMURAL SUPPORT

TECHNOLOGIES

COMMUNICATIONS

ADMISSIONS & ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

GRADUATE RECRUITMENT & RETENTION

ENROLLMENT

GRADUATE STUDENT AFFAIRS & ALUMNI RELATIONS

FINANCE, OPERATIONS & DATA MANAGEMENT

EMPLOYMENT AND FELLOWSHIPS