Student Affairs Administration

Program Director

Dr. Susan Mancuso

Dr. Susan Mancuso
SAA Program Director

Associate Professor

Susan is currently an Associate Professor at Woodring College of Education. She received her Ed.D. from the  University of Washington, her M.A. in Sociology from WWU, and earned a B.A. in Anthropology from UCLA. She has been a department chair for more than a decade, though her academic focus is directing and teaching in the Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education graduate program.

Prior to coming to WWU, Dr. Mancuso was the Senior Student Affairs Officer and the VP/Dean for Educational Services at Whatcom Community College. She was a community college administrator and faculty for 22 years.

The “Distinguished Service to the Profession Award” was awarded to Dr. Mancuso by NASPA in 2004 for her extensive leadership in higher education. She has recently been a member of the Region V NASPA Board of Directors and is active in college and university accreditation through the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. 

Her scholarship has focused on adult learning, non-traditional higher education for adult learners, and assessment of experiential learning. She is currently the Principal Investigator of a $1.5 million grant on “Curriculum Integration for Responsive, Cross-cultural, Language-based Education”. 

Phone: (360) 650-6552
E-mail: Susan.Mancuso@wwu.edu

Program Staff

   Sherry Haskins

Sherry Haskins
Program Coordinator for SAA/CCE

Department of Educational Leadership

Sherry has worked for Western since 1997.  She transferred to the Department of Educational Leadership in December 2001 and has been the program coordinator for the SAA graduate program since then.  If you have any questions, Sherry is an excellent resource!

Phone: (360) 650-3190
E-mail: Sherry.Haskins@wwu.edu

Student Affairs Administration Faculty

Dr. Patricia Fabiano

Dr. Patricia Fabiano
SAA Faculty

Department of Educational Leadership

Patricia Fabiano has been at Western Washington University for 17 years as the Student Affairs Director of Prevention and Wellness Services, where she developed a model college health promotion program.  Dr. Fabiano was in student affairs for nearly 25 years (first at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and then at Stanford University), where she made research and program development contributions to the field.  While at WWU, Dr. Fabiano developed the Lifestyle Advisor Program, a nationally recognized peer health education program, and wrote nearly four million dollars in federal and state grants in reducing, high-risk alcohol consumption and violence prevention.  She has published in the area of social justice and men’s role in the prevention of violence.

Dr. Fabiano currently serves as the NASPA National Co-Chair of the Health in Higher Education Knowledge Community and the Region V Board of Directors Representative for Women in Student Affairs.  She teaches assessment and research in the Student Affairs Administration Program, as well as courses on collaboration and cultural pluralism.  Together with Drs. Larry Estrada and Susan Mancuso, Dr. Fabiano developed the new undergraduate minor in Diversity in Higher Education, which is designed for students considering careers and/or graduate school in higher education or in student affairs administration.  She also provides consultation and professional development education to the WWU Division of Student Affairs and Academic Support Services’ DART—Division Assessment Resource Team.

In 2005, Dr. Fabiano was selected as one of the recipients of the Northwest Regional Women’s Hall of Fame Award.

Phone: (360) 650-3074
E-mail: Pat.Fabiano@wwu.edu

Student Affairs Administration Faculty

Dr. Sherry Mallory

Dr. Sherry Mallory
Associate Dean of Students

Sherry is currently the Associate Dean of Students and Director of the Student Life Office at WWU. She received her Ph.D. in higher education from the University of Arizona, and her B.A. in psychology from UC Santa Cruz. Before arriving at Western, she held a variety of student affairs positions at the University of Arkansas (2002-2005) and University of Arizona (1996-2002), including Special Assistant to the Vice Chancellor and Director of Research and Assessment for Student Life. She also served as an adjunct faculty member at both institutions.

Sherry is an active member of NASPA, and is currently national co-chair elect (with SAA alum Tina Wang) for the Women in Student Affairs Knowledge Community. Previously, she served on the NASPA Board of Directors (2005-2007), the NASPA Journal Editorial Board (2001-2004), and the planning committee for the 2002 and 2009 NASPA National Conferences. She’s also a member of the American College Personnel Association, Association for Student Conduct Administrators, and Southern Association for College Student Affairs, and serves on the Editorial Boards for the Journal of College Student Affairs and the Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice.

Sherry’s professional interests include public policy/legal issues in higher education, the factors that play a role in student success, and involvement in professional associations. She recently co-authored a chapter on accountability for the 3rd edition of the Handbook of Student Affairs Administration (2009), and is currently working on a chapter on the changing roles and responsibilities of the assistant to for New Realities: Emerging Specialists Roles and Structures in Student Affairs Organizations.

As a graduate student, Sherry was inspired by her mentor – Dr. Doug Woodard – to become a “student of students.” She’s taken his advice to heart and works hard to stay current, relative to emerging issues and trends on college campuses. She’s also a frequent conference presenter. Her two “favorite” topics are getting involved in professional associations and current policy issues in student affairs.  

Phone: (360) 650-3839
E-mail: Sherry.Mallory@wwu.edu

Student Affairs Administration Faculty

Dr. John Purdie

Dr. John R. Purdie II
SAA Faculty

Associate Director of WWU University Residences for Residence Life

John rejoined the WWU community in 2006. After completing a BA in Speech-Communication at Western in 1991, he went on to earn an MA in Higher, Adult and Lifelong Education at Michigan State University in 1994 and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from the University of Missouri - Columbia in 2007.  He also completed a post-master's certificate in Residence Education which was instructed by Dr. Charles Schroeder and jointly sponsored by ACPA and the ELPA Department at MU.

Although John's career has taken him to a few campuses (WWU, MSU, University of Nevada Las Vegas, MU, and Arizona State U) it has remained focused in residence life education. Areas of professional interest are first-year students, living-learning communities, assessment, and social justice education. As a fledging scholar-practitioner he has made a variety of local, regional and national presentations, authored two published articles with another under review, co-authored a monograph chapter under review, and provided a couple invited consultations/trainings. John is a member of Student Affairs and Academic Support Services' Division Assessment Resource Team.

As the associate director for residence life John provides educational and administrative leadership for the unit which includes conference and guest housing, crisis response and the residential conduct system, RHA and NRHH advising, the residence education program, and the in-hall resident director and resident advisor staff.  In addition to co-instructing the Resident Assistant course and a Freshman Interest Group (FIG) course John teaches one course in the SAA Master's program each spring.

Phone: (360) 650-6590
E-mail: John.Purdie@wwu.edu

Friends of the Program