Leadership

In collaboration with Interim Vice Chancellor Student Halsall, Student Affairs & Inclusive Excellence's divisional leadership team provides administrative, strategic and organizational leadership as we work to support our students throughout their journey at DU.

Stuart Halsall

Interim Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs

Stuart Halsall, Interim Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs, posing with his wife and three children

Stuart Halsall officially joined the University of Denver on May 1, 1999, and has served in a number of positions for the Division of Athletics and Recreation over 23 years. On May 16, 2022, Halsall accepted the role of Associate Vice Chancellor, Kennedy Mountain Campus, Wellness & Recreation. From mid-August 2024, he is also serving as interim Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs.

 

He brings more than two decades of facilities, sports, recreation, wellness, and events administration experience, building a reputation for developing quality operations, programs and services and developing great teams, relationships, and partnerships. He is an experienced executive with a demonstrated history of achievement in higher education and is charged with realizing DU's vision of the James C. Kennedy Mountain Campus.

Meghan C. Dimsa, EdD

Executive Director of Strategy and Communication

Meg Dimsa

Meg Dimsa comes to DU from Georgetown University where she served as the Executive Director of Campus Recreation, Health, and Wellness since 2009. Prior to that, Meg worked at the University of Missouri – Columbia (Mizzou) where she held a variety of leadership roles.  

Currently, Meg serves as the Executive Director of Strategy and Communication for Student Affairs and Inclusive Excellence at the University of Denver.  She is a strategic-thinking visionary leader with over 19 years of experience and success leading various campus-wide initiatives, facilities management operations, large-scale event programming, budget management, student engagement and advocacy, and team leadership/mentorship. Her professional interests include: comprehensive proactive health promotion practices to holistically address health education and learning outcomes among diverse populations; physical activity as one method to mitigate anxiety, stress, depression, boost resiliency, self-efficacy, academic and career success, while creating organic opportunities for social engagement and thriving; community health and equity through service work in South Africa and the United States; project management; leadership practices to build and foster inclusive and efficient teams; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion as the foundational fabric woven throughout all areas of this work. 

Meg holds a BS degree in exercise psychology from West Virginia University, an M.Ed. in kinesiology and physiology with an emphasis in sport and exercise psychology from Bowling Green State University, an M.A. in executive leadership with an emphasis on the importance of the student co-curricular experience from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, and an Ed.D in higher education leadership with an emphasis on comprehensive and proactive health promotion strategies from Creighton University.  Additionally, Meg is a Project Manager and holds many national health, wellness, and coaching certifications. 

Niki Latino

Dean of Students & Associate Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs & Inclusive Excellence

Niki Latino headshot

Dr. Niki Latino is the Associate Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs & Inclusive Excellence at the University of Denver. She earned her master's and doctoral degrees at DU. Her PhD is in higher education teaching and learning, with specialties in inclusive leadership and inclusive excellence. She has taught at DU, at the graduate and undergraduate levels and serves on graduate student research committees. Her passion is creating inclusive learning environments and equitable access to learning for all students

Tamara White, Ph.D

Associate Dean of Students

Tamara White

Tamara D. White, Ph.D. currently serves as Associate Dean of Students and Interim Director of the Cultural Center for the division of Student Affairs and Inclusive Excellence at the University of Denver. Dr. White formerly served as the Vice President of Enrollment Services and Student Success at Front Range Community College, the Dean of Students at the Community College of Aurora, and the Director of Admission and Access Policy for the Colorado Department of Higher Education. She spent most of her professional career in higher education, serving in roles in student life, multicultural affairs, leadership, and residence life. Dr. White earned her doctorate in higher education from the University of Denver. She has two children, a 19-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter.

Michael J. LaFarr

Assistant Vice Chancellor, Health & Wellness

Michael LaFarr headshot

Dr. Michael LaFarr earned his BA in Education from Johnson State College in 1993, his MA in Higher Education from the University of Denver in 2008, and his PsyD in Clinical Psychology from the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology in 2010. Previously Michael was the Executive Director of Health and Wellness at Brandeis University and was also the former Director of Student Affairs at the Harvard School of Public Health. Michael served in the Peace Corps of the United States, working in Education and Health Promotion in Mali, West Africa. His professional interests include health care disparity & access, health and wellness, college mental health, differences in learning, grief counseling, giftedness, psychodynamic treatment, sexual therapy, non-majority sexual orientation & transgender mental health. 

Shana Alston

Assistant Vice Chancellor, Housing & Residential Education 

shana alston headshot

Shana provides strategic leadership for residential education, campus housing operations, off-campus housing, and campus dining services. Shana strives to enhance both the student and staff experience while improving housing administrative and operational processes by significantly advancing residential educational experience, enhancing housing technology, growing staff development opportunities, strategic communication, and hiring & recruitment processes. Shana holds a Bachelor’s of Arts degree from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and a Master’s of Science degree in Educational Counseling from Monmouth University. She has worked at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Monmouth University, Philadelphia University (Thomas Jefferson University- East Falls), and Temple University during her professional career. Shana values professional involvement and is also an active member of ACUHO-I. She currently serves as the Chair Elect of the ACUHO-I Foundation.   

Chris Roby

Assistant Vice Chancellor, Student Engagement & 4D Experience

Chris Roby headshot

Chris joins us most recently after 15 years at Duke University, where he served as the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Executive Director of University Center Activities and Events. Chris is a proven leader in bringing talented staff together in support of the student experience, and in intentionally developing signature community-building spaces with the goal of creating engaged, inclusive spaces for all students to learn, grow, and thrive.  

Chris comes to us with 32 years of experience in Student Affairs, with an extensive portfolio in student activities, strategic planning, facilities and renovation planning, budget management, and extensive work building strong, cohesive teams and engaging diverse students and staff. As Assistant Vice President at Duke, Chris led a comprehensive department including the student involvement and student engagement teams, conference and event services, venue and production management, UCAE’s finance and administration unit, as well as the division’s strategic communications and professional development team. Previous to his time at Duke, Chris led teams at Florida State University, the University of Miami, and Eckerd College, holding roles as union director as well as director of student activities and leadership programs, and as an assistant dean of students.  

Chris also has an extensive facilities management portfolio, having been responsible for Duke’s Campus Center complex, Art Centers, Performance and Theater Venues, and non-residential facilities, and at Florida State, providing oversight for the Oglesby Union Complex as well as the Student Life Building, Student Services Building, and the Flying High Circus (yes, a literal circus—ask him about it sometime).  

When he is not in the office, Chris enjoys collecting and creating art, antiquing, and getting out and exploring new parks and hiking trails with his family. 

Lori Gordon

Assistant Vice Chancellor, Business, Operations and Division Resources  

Lori Gordon
Lori joins the University of Denver after serving at Northwestern University for nearly 15 years and 1.5 years at Duke University. At Northwestern, she started in the Office of Budget and Planning with a portfolio that included Residential Services, Dining, Facilities and Capital Planning. She joined the Kellogg School of Management (KSM) where she was an Associate Director of Facilities and worked on renovations of the Allen Center and closely with the Executive Education team. Early 2016 Lori was promoted to the Executive Director of Business and Finance for the Division of Student Affairs. Lori led a team of Student Affairs colleagues that presented at Northwestern Universities’ Best Practices Forum demonstrating how Tableau could be effectively used for more efficient dashboard development supporting both information sharing and leadership decisions. In 2018 she was awarded Northwestern Student Affairs Stewardship Award. Lori joined the Duke University Student Affairs team where she served as the Division Chief Financial Officer for Student Affairs as the university emerged from the pandemic. Prior to her career in higher education, Lori worked in various finance, planning, and purchasing roles across PepsiCo, Sara Lee, Brinker International and Thompson Reuters. Lori received her Bachelor of Science in Engineering Geology from Texas A&M University and a master’s in business administration from the University of Tennessee. She is a member of NACUBO and SHRM. Lori enjoys visiting her daughter, Audrey, in Austin and son, Jack, at CU-Boulder; her husband and two dogs in Chicago and jogging, hiking, motorcycling and playing golf (albeit not very well).