Vice President of Student Affairs Ed Mills will leave Sacramento State this summer after nearly 15 years of service. Mills will be moving on to serve as vice president of Strategic Enrollment at Sonoma State University, according to a campus-wide email sent regarding Mills’ departure Monday morning.

Sonoma State President Ming-Tung “Mike” Lee announced in an email to Sonoma State that Mills will be serving a three-year term at the University. Lee said his role aims to improve  CSU enrollment targets so Sonoma doesn’t face state budget cuts. 

“[This role] emphasize[s] the importance of enrollment management to the future success of the campus,” Lee said. “[The role is] to ensure that the campus leadership team works interdivisional to support recruitment and retention.”

Mills was hired in 2007 to help Sac State reach its enrollment target, which hadn’t been done for many years, President Robert Nelsen wrote in the email. 

In 2015, Mills became vice president of Student Affairs and has been serving as vice president ever since. 

“Though his departure is a tremendous loss for Sacramento State, I know that the staff and administrators in Student Affairs will continue to provide outstanding service to our students,” Nelsen said. “I am grateful that he will continue to serve students in the CSU at Sonoma State.”

Including Mills’ role through Student Affairs, he also served as a professor for a first-year seminar course and a Student Service course for a doctorate program said Nelsen in a campus-wide email.

Mills’ exit from Sac State follows another administrative departure this year after Nelsen announced his retirement last fall, which will be in effect this July. Nelsen announced that Dr. Jenni Murphy, the current dean for the College of Continuing Education, will serve as interim vice president of Student Affairs until a permanent candidate is hired.