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Joseph Sheley named provost and vice president for academic affairs

Joseph Sheley

Sacramento State President Alexander Gonzalez announced Friday the appointment of Joseph F. Sheley as provost and vice president for academic affairs. The appointment is effective immediately.

“Joe is completely committed to Sacramento State,” said President Gonzalez. “He knows the institution intimately, having served in both academic and administrative posts. That experience and familiarity with the campus is invaluable, and it made Joe the standout candidate.”

As provost, Sheley will lead Academic Affairs and oversee the University’s seven academic colleges, Library and College of Continuing Education. Sacramento State currently has nearly 800 full-time faculty and more than 28,000 students.

Marilyn Hopkins, chair of the search committee and dean of the College of Health & Human Services, said “Joe is a strong and positive voice for the University, which serves us well on campus and in the community. He is an experienced educator, a fine scholar and has broad-based experience in higher education.”

“Sacramento State already has a fine reputation for teaching and academic excellence,” said Sheley. “I look forward to helping establish the University as one of California’s premier universities. And I am particularly interested in finding new ways to support the development of our faculty as both scholars and educators.”

Sheley has served as interim provost and vice president for academic affairs since July 17, 2006. A national search was conducted for a successor to Ric Brown, who announced his intention to retire in July. Qualified candidates came from major universities in California and across the country.

A Sacramento native, Sheley earned his bachelor’s degree in social science (1969) and master’s in sociology (1971) from Sacramento State. He completed a doctorate in sociology (1975) at the University of Massachusetts.

Sheley joined the faculty at Tulane University in 1975 and served as chair of the Department of Sociology from 1985 to 1991. He held a number of posts at Tulane including vice chair of the University Senate and academic program administrator for the HUD Campus Affiliates Program. In 1982, he was an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fellow and visiting lecturer in Cali, Colombia.

In 1996, he returned to his alma mater as founding dean of the College of Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies. He subsequently served as interim director of the Office of Alumni Relations (2004-05) and executive vice president (2005-06).

A widely published scholar and criminologist, Sheley's academic and research interests include issues of social control and the phenomenon of minors and guns.

The search was conducted by a faculty committee:
Marilyn Hopkins, Dean, College of Health and Human Services (chair)
Bruce Bikle, Associate Professor, Criminal Justice
Sue Holl, Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Sonya Lovine, Office Manager, Sponsored Research, Grant and Contract Admin. (staff representative)
Mark Siegler, Associate Professor, Economics
Pia Wong, Associate Professor, Bilingual Multicultural Education