Society & Culture

Virginia Tech vice president to give presentation on powerful partnerships

patty perillo va tech-v
Patty Perillo

Athens, Ga. – Patty Perillo, vice president for student affairs at Virginia Tech, will present as the 2014 Student Affairs Visiting Practitioner on Jan. 7 at 2 p.m. in the Tate Student Center Grand Hall on the University of Georgia campus. The presentation is free and open to the public. Registration is available at studentaffairs.uga.edu.

Perillo’s presentation, entitled “Powerful Partnerships Begin with You,” will explore the work that student affairs professionals must do to more fully build successful and sustained partnerships with campus colleagues in order to enhance student learning.

As vice president for student affairs at Virginia Tech, Perillo provides leadership and oversight for 15 departments and oversees a budget of over $100 million and a staff of more than 2,600 full- and part-time employees.

Previously, she has served at six other institutions, including the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where her work in student engagement led to the institution being named as one of Newsweek’s “America’s Hot Schools.”

Before becoming the vice president for student affairs at Virginia Tech, Perillo was the associate dean of students at Davidson College. There, Perillo oversaw the architectural design and construction of four new buildings and championed efforts in multicultural programming, alcohol reform, residence and Greek life and a 20-year master plan for the college.

Perillo has held several national leadership positions in student affairs, including serving as president of the American College Personnel Association and chair of the 2011 ACPA convention. She is an ACPA Diamond Honoree for Service to Higher Education and has been inducted into Phi Kappa Phi, Omicron Delta Kappa and Phi Alpha Epsilon.

“Student affairs professionals from across the country have admired Dr. Perillo’s work for years,” said Victor K. Wilson, vice president for student affairs at UGA. “I became especially aware of her dynamic leadership during her time at Davidson and through her roles with ACPA. We are thrilled to host her at UGA and to learn from this acclaimed expert in our field.”

The Student Affairs Visiting Practitioner was instituted in 2013 as part of the Professional Enrichment Institute, a staff training and development program within UGA’s Division of Student Affairs. The Visiting Practitioner program provides opportunities for members of Professional Enrichment Institute and the university community to learn from distinguished administrators in higher education.

Professional Enrichment Institute
The Professional Enrichment Institute is a multi-faceted, selective professional development opportunity for staff at various levels within UGA’s Division of Student Affairs. The institute engages participants in a specially designed curriculum shaped by the principles of excellence, ethical practice and inclusion. Participants develop new and enhance existing skills essential for leadership in higher education. The institute provides a premier experience within student affairs at the University of Georgia.

UGA Student Affairs
The Division of Student Affairs comprises 17 campus departments that enhance the learning environment for students at the University of Georgia by stimulating the learning process, integrating the in-class and out-of-class experiences, promoting an environment conducive to growth and discovery and facilitating intellectual, spiritual, social, occupational, physical, cultural and emotional development. For more information, see studentaffairs.uga.edu.