About Salvador Mena
Born in Harlem, New York, and raised in the South Bronx, Dr. Salvador Mena is a graduate of the New York City public school system, and was the first in his family to attend college. Leaving New York City to attend the University of Maine was a transformative experience that inspired him to pursue a career in higher education and fueled his commitment to inclusion and social justice.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and master’s of education in student development and higher education administration from the University of Maine, he received his doctor of philosophy degree in higher education, student affairs, and international education policy from the University of Maryland, College Park. Dr. Mena's dissertation study titled "The New South: A Case Analysis of Latino Students Attending a Historically Black University in North Carolina" focused on understanding the growing phenomena of Latinos enrolling at HBCUs in the South. In 2016 he completed a post-doctoral studies certificate at the Institute for Educational Management at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education.
Dr. Mena began his career in education by serving as a Student Advisor with Job Corps—a residentially based Federal Department of Labor program that offers at-risk young women and men, ages 16 to 24, opportunities to earn academic and vocational credentials and assists them with securing placement in education, employment, or the military upon graduation from the program.
With a rich professional history of serving students in various administrative roles at both public and private colleges and universities, Dr. Mena has held positions at Rutgers University–New Brunswick, the College of Staten Island of the City University of New York, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Maryland, College Park, Goucher College, Brown University, Illinois State University, and the University of Maine.
Over four years, he served as a residence life educator at the University of Maine and Illinois State University. He managed residential facilities, fostered community, and facilitated co-curricular experiences. While at Brown University, he served as an Assistant Dean for Student Life and was responsible for assisting with a broad portfolio that included crisis management, residence life staffing and programming, academic advising, diversity programming and outreach, judicial affairs, and student leadership development.
What drives me to keep going every day is the fact that I really believe we are able to make a difference in the lives of students who will, in turn, make the world a better place for us all.
Senior Vice Chancellor Mena
From 2004-2005, he served as a doctoral fellow at the University of Maryland, College Park, where he served as a research assistant on a study looking at access and success factors for Latinx undergraduates at the institution. At Goucher College, he served as the Associate Dean for Community Living and Multicultural Affairs, where he collaborated on initiatives related to student life, college access, diversity programming, and retention of students of color, first-generation and low-income students.
While at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he served as the Special Assistant to the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Director of Strategic Initiatives and Planning for the Division of Student Affairs. In this role, he provided broad leadership for strategic planning efforts, developed a divisional assessment plan, coordinated professional development programs, led divisional diversity efforts, and worked on special projects and initiatives.
As the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students at the College of Staten Island, Dr. Mena served as deputy to the Vice President for Student Affairs and worked collaboratively with Student Affairs, Academic Affairs, Enrollment Management, Finance and Administration, and Advancement colleagues to support student success and enhance the overall student experience.
Joining Rutgers in August of 2014 as the Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Dr. Mena was elevated to Senior Associate Vice Chancellor in 2017, promoted to Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs in 2018, and as of 2023, is now the Senior Vice Chancellor for the Student Experience. As Senior Vice Chancellor, he leads a comprehensive division of student affairs that focuses on health and wellness, student life and advocacy, campus engagement and belonging, and student services. As a member of the New Brunswick Chancellor's leadership team, Dr. Mena has worked collaboratively with his cabinet and campus colleagues to help advance student success at Rutgers–New Brunswick as outlined in the Academic Master Plan and related initiatives like Discovery Advantage and Scarlet Well. Despite Rutgers–New Brunswick’s 45,000 student enrollment, Dr. Mena strives to be accessible to students by holding open student hours, convening a student advisory council, collaborating with the Rutgers University Student Assembly (RUSA) and the various school governing councils and student organization councils, attending as many student programs annually, and communicating regularly with the student body.
Professionally, Dr. Mena has also been involved with several higher education professional organizations, including NASPA-Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. He served a two-year appointment on the ACPA/NASPA Joint Task Force on the Future of Student Affairs (2008-2010) and as the inaugural Co-Chair of NASPA’s Latinx/a/o Knowledge Community (2002-2004). He also served as a faculty member and organizer of NASPA’s inaugural New Professionals Institute (2015) and was a member of the NASPA National Conference Planning Committee (2017). He recently served as an editorial reviewer for the NASPA Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice (2018-2021) and was recognized in 2020 as a Pillar of the Profession by NASPA – a recognition of “distinguished individuals who have served as leaders, teachers, and scholars in student affairs and higher education.” Dr. Mena is a regular presenter at national conferences and has published in the Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice and contributed a book chapter in Cultural Centers in Higher Education: Perspectives on Identity, Theory, and Practice. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing. He’s also served as a consultant to institutions on organizational change, leadership, and diversity/inclusion issues. Currently, he serves on the NASPA Board of Directors as the Director of the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Division and on the James E. Scott Advisory Board. Dr. Mena was also appointed in 2022 as an inaugural Senior Impact Fellow for the Aspen Institute Leadership Development Index, which seeks to leverage the potential of leadership education in K-16 to transform lives and make the world a better place.