Academic Affairs Council

The Academic Affairs Council includes our college deans and the following administrators:

Academic Senate

Senate Chair - Jackson Wilson

Dr. Wilson oversees the San Francisco State University Academic Senate, which develops policies and procedures regarding faculty and administrative appointments, curriculum, business & fiscal matters, campus development, academic standards, University goals and much more. Dr. Wilson’s research interests include marginalization and public park space, the health impacts of recreating in outdoor spaces, and online education.  Previously, Dr. Wilson served two years as the Department of Recreation, Parks & Tourism Chair.

Dr. Wilson currently serves or recently served in a number of campus leadership roles.  This includes a long-term role as the chair of the University Online Education Committee and chairing the College of Health and Social Sciences Online Education Committee.  Dr. Wilson hs served as the chair of the Academic Senate’s Academic Policies Committee and as well as the Vice Chair of that body.  He has seved for a number of years conducting research and professional development about outdoor education as the lead faculty fellow for the Quality Learning & Teaching program, a faculty fellow with the Center for Equity and Excellence in Teaching and Learning, and the lead campus researcher for the CSU Student Quality Assurance Impact Research. 

Wilson completed his bachelors in economics from the University of Washington, masters in economics of education from Columbia University and his Ph.D. jn Leisure Behavior at Indiana University. 

Academic Resources

Interim Vice Provost John Kim

Vice Provost Kim  oversees the management of the Academic Affairs budget, the production of the class schedule, the scheduling of Academic Affairs classrooms and the assignment and management of academic space to support the mission of Academic Affairs in compliance with CSU regulations and University policies.

He was first hired at SF State as an Assistant Professor in Psychology in 1995. He has served in numerous leadership roles over the past 28 years on this campus. He has served as Chair of the Psychology, Chair of the Academic Policies Committee, as well as Associate Vice President for Academic Resources during the Great Recession. He is deeply committed to SF State and its mission of inclusive education and student success. .

Dr. Kim received his Ph.D. and B.S. in brain and cognitive sciences from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Faculty Affairs and Professional Development

Associate Vice President - Carleen Mandolfo

Dr. Mandolfo oversees faculty recruitment and hiring; retention, tenure, promotions and other faculty personnel processes; and university wide professional development awards and training, including the operations of the Center for Teaching and Faculty Development. She provides consultation on matters regarding faculty (e.g., diversity, compensation, workplace conflict, career development) in coordination with the colleges, Faculty Senate, Human Resources, faculty union and University Counsel. She represents the campus within the CSU on matters relating to faculty affairs.

In her most recent role as Associate Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity at Colby College, she supervised the Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, oversaw faculty search, tenure and promotion processes, and advanced diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives for the campus community. She has extensive experience in individual and department conflict resolution, having also served as a trained facilitator for VOEG (Victim Offender Education Group), a restorative justice program developed by Insight Prison Project for incarcerated populations. A widely-published scholar of the Hebrew Bible, she is the co-Chair of the Society of Biblical Literature's National Task Force on Teaching the Bible in U.S. Public Schools. 

Dr. Mandolfo received her PhD from Emory University and her BA from San Francisco State. 

Graduate Studies

Dean - Sophie Clavier

Sophie Clavier has served the University for over 26 years in a variety of roles: as an award winning faculty member, department chair, graduate coordinator, associate dean, and finally dean of Graduate Studies. Her scholarship and publications have been in the areas of international law, peaceful settlement of international disputes and international human rights. She is deeply commited to the University’s core mission of academic excellence, educational equity and student success.

Clavier holds a Master’s degree from SF State and earned her Ph.D. in international law from University of Paris.

Institutional Analytics

Associate Provost - Sutee Sujitparapitaya

The associate provost for Institutional Analytics proactively supports the University's mission by providing timely official data and analysis for planning, institutional effectiveness, and decision-making. Sutee provides strategic leadership in the area of data analytics, analyses, data integrity and predictive analytics in order to build a culture of actionable, data-driven conversations and decisions at the institution.

Sutee received his Ph.D. in Business Administration from The University of Memphis Tennessee and MS in Computer Information System from Middle Tennessee State University

J. Paul Leonard Library

University Librarian - Debbie Masters

Debbie Masters represents the Library on the Academic Affairs Council, the California State University Council of Library Directors, and elsewhere both within and outside the University. She is directly responsible for all aspects of the Library in matters of personnel, programs, facilities, budgets, and equipment and works closely with the campus to coordinate and improve information resources at the University.

Research and Sponsored Programs

Associate Vice President - Michael Scott

Dr. Scott works closely with all departments within the University that are associated with the management of grants and contracts.  He also works with faculty and administrators throughout the University on strategic planning for research, and is responsible for advancing research and scholarship initiatives on campus and in the community, as well as attracting support at the state and national levels. He also represents the University to research and educational agencies, businesses and industries, and the research community.

Undergraduate Education and Academic Planning

Dean - Lori Beth Way

Dr. Way oversees the Division of Undergraduate Education and Academic Planning, which includes the Undergraduate Advising Center, university-wide tutoring services (Learning Assistance Center [LAC] and the Campus Academic Resource Program [CARP]), the Articulation Office, the Early Assessment Program (EAP) and the Writing Across the Curriculum/Writing in the Discipline Program (WAC/WID). The Dean has oversight of all-university undergraduate graduation requirements, including General Education, as well as university functions relating to Curriculum Development, Assessment, Accreditation and the University Bulletin.

Dr. Way joined San Francisco State in 2015 as associate dean of Academic Planning, after serving as senior advisor for Undergraduate Education at Emerson College and in multiple leadership roles at Chico State, where she earned tenure and taught in the department of Political Science. Dr. Way brings to her position a powerful commitment to the success of students, faculty, and staff—along with a keen appreciation of the interconnectedness of all three. In her own words, “I chose SF State because of its commitment to social justice, its diversity, its excellence, the quality of the research produced, and the commitment to improving our community.

Way holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Syracuse University, Maxwell School of Public Affairs.