The Resident Scholars are responsible for developing a curriculum that centers on the Institute’s theme. Scholars will work together to develop interactive presentations that bring the participants together and provide a learning experience in line with the learning objectives.
Alfred Day
Associate Director of Residential Life, UC Merced
Alfred Day
I have worked in Residence Life since being a Resident Assistant at Fresno State University. Even though I had to suffer through unfortunate 80’s hair (what was I thinking with a high top fade!), he fell in love with Student Affairs, and began a career within the field. Working at institutions such as Chapman University, University of Southern California, University of California, Santa Barbara and Wild Water Adventures I found myself lucky enough to be chosen to be a part of the team to bring University of California, Merced into the world. (Well sort of. I mean I wasn’t there opening day because I was in a wedding, but I worked there before it opened, and again after it opened, so I wasn’t technically there when it opened. But I digress . . .)
One of the great moments of my life was when UC Santa Barbara instituted the Al Day Award for Service to Students. This was only slightly minimized by the fact that someone else won it.
I serve as the current Associate Director of Residence Life for University of California Merced. I have the unique privilege of serving this position in a town I also happened to be born and raised in. It gives me the unique advantage of being able to bore my students with stories of how, when I was a kid this was where Uncle Leroy lived with his two goats.
Outside the field, I have been honored to serve on the Board of Directors for the Merced Theatre Foundation. I have been lucky enough to be in the cast of several stage productions including “It’s a Wonderful Life: The Radio Play”, “A Christmas Carol”, and “Little Shop of Horrors”. My dream of playing Tevia in Fiddler on the Roof remains sadly unrealized.
I am thrilled to be asked to be a Resident Scholar for the Western Training Institue and will endeavor to be worthy of the trust you’ve placed in me to create an insightful and valuable experience for it’s participants. And plus, Pacific Palisades is where “Saved by the Bell!” took place, so that’s pretty cool.
Cindy Derrico
Director of Housing & Residential Education, CSU Channel Islands
Cindy Derrico
Cindy Derrico has 16 years of experience as a Student Affairs professional; 15 of those years she spent in Housing. Over the course of her career, she’s had the unique opportunity to create new and developing programs. After completing her graduate degree at Azusa Pacific, Cindy started at CSU Northridge as a Resident Director and served in progressively responsible Residential Life positions, finally settling into the Associate Director role. During her time at Northridge, the bedcouunt increased from 672 to 3000 within 4 years, and shortly thereafter CSUN experienced the 1994 Earthquake where she and her colleagues participated in the long campus recovery effort. Cindy then spent 3 1/2 years at CSU Monterey Bay when the campus was still in the earliest stages of the start up process. She served as the Director of Residential Learning and spent a year working as the Special Assistant to the Vice President for Student Affairs. While at CSUMB, Cindy and her husband, Jay, accepted an invitation to serve on the staff of their church, Salinas Valley Community Church. They served on the staff of SVCC for 7 years leading Adult Ministry; work which was very similar in substance to her work in higher ed including teaching, counseling, program development, and community and relationship development. This was a very special opportunity that allowed them to serve their church and work part time and spend more time with their children.
After seven years in ministry, the Derrico’s agreed that it was time to return to their work in higher education. Cindy started working at CSU Channel Islands as it’s first Director of Housing and Residential Education in the Summer of 2007.
Over the course of her Housing career, Cindy has been a very active member of WACUHO starting as a member of the Southern RAP committee in 1986. She Chaired the Host Committee in 1993, the New Professional Committee in 1997 and served on a variety of other committees including WTI in 1993 when our topic for the week was Ethics.
Cindy’s personal interests include music, movies, spending time with friends and attending the marching band activities of her two teenagers. She has been married for 23 years to Jay Derrico, who serves as a the Career Counselor at CSUCI. This year they are making college visits with her son Kegan who is a high school senior; it is very eye-opening to be on the “other” side of this process! Her daughter Courtney is in the 9th grade.
Cindy is very committed to the holistic development of her students and staff, and was excited to be asked to serve WTI as a Resident Scholar because of the opportunity it will provide to share her personal and professional experience with others, and to benefit from getting to know and gaining insight from other colleagues in our region.
Lisa Slavid
Coordinator of Strategic Initiatives, UC Santa Barbara
Lisa Slavid
Lisa Slavid is the Coordinator of Strategic Initiatives at UCSB. She has worked in Residential Life & Housing for 18 years, in a variety of roles, including Resident Director, Student Leadership Coordinator, and Dean of Students. She is a ropes course facilitator, a diversity facilitator, an artist and a life-long learner. She serves on the Alumni Board of Semester at Sea, and on the board of Just Communities Central Coast, a local social justice organization. She’s interested in the wisdom and compassion of others and of collectively reaching our fullest potential. She’s always in search of intriguing questions that help move us forward. She’s also a published cartoonist.
