Commending Vice President J. E. (Penny) Saffold for her Distinguished Service to SF State University

Dr. J.E. (Penny) Saffold joined the administration of San Francisco State University thirty-one years ago, serving with distinction in a variety of leadership roles, including: Director of Student Activities, 1981 – 1984; Dean of Students, 1984 – 2011; and Vice President for Student Affairs, 1994 – 2012; and

Vice President Saffold has been a staunch advocate for students and the student experience—no matter her title—believing that the University must educate the “whole” student; and

Her legacy of success at “making the college experience rich and rewarding for the full range of our diverse student population” was acknowledged when she was named the 2011 Educator of the Year by the Golden Gate Section of the National Council of Negro Women; and

Vice President Saffold has graciously and often times firmly mentored countless students, faculty, staff, and administrators, leaving behind a cadre of leaders prepared to embrace the challenges of tomorrow; and

In her current capacity, Vice President Saffold facilitates the excellence of the University’s management of enrollment, student outreach, campus climate, undergraduate admissions, financial aid, registration, educational opportunity, student health (physical and mental), disability access, emergency preparedness, student government, leadership and career development, residential life, student conduct, recreation, public safety, parking and transportation and compliance; and

On those occasions when the tensions of the broader society have been manifested on our globally minded campus, threatening the mutual respect and civil discourse that are so important to our academic environment, Vice President Saffold has guided, counseled, inspired and, when necessary, laid down the law in a way that honored our campus commitments to social justice, freedom of expression, and appropriately collegial discourse; and

Vice President Saffold shepherded the development, design and construction of new campus facilities to better serve students including the ASI Child Care Center, additions to the Cesar Chavez Student Center, the Village at Centennial Square (featuring a one stop student services center), and the planned activity fields and the Recreation and Wellness Center; and

Vice President Saffold has been a champion of shared governance as demonstrated by her leadership in and support of the Associated Students, Inc., Student Center Governing Board, Academic Senate, and the Commission on University Strategic Planning; and

As the composition of our student body evolved and the needs of a more residential student population emerged, Vice President Saffold “brought student affairs from the margins to the center” to lead responsive campus initiatives (including finally allowing the students to dance); and

Vice President Saffold is respectfully and variously referred to as: the general, mentor, spiritual advisor, diva, counselor, strategist, and hotdog connoisseur; and

Vice President Saffold kept us laughing while she kept us safe; and