Many rankings have placed UC Santa Barbara as among the best universities in the nation and the world for excellence in education to students, such as the Leiden Ranking, U.S. News & World Report, and Times Higher Education. Now comes word that UCSB has been recognized as one of the best university employers in the country. Glassdoor, a jobs and career community that offers an inside look at companies through postings by employees and others, has announced its Top 25 Universities to Work For (2013), and UCSB takes the No. 23 spot.
Grad students Lois Harmon, left, and Haley Orton led groups of new students on tours of the campus for New Graduate Student Orientation in September 2013. Haley is Assistant Director of Graduate Admissions for the Graduate Division. Credit: Patricia MarroquinThe universities were rated by the employees themselves. The employee respondents evaluated their university employers on such diverse factors and situations as: a healthy work-life balance; a stimulating environment; opportunities to collaborate; engaged staff members who are proud of their university’s environment and reputation; a strong focus on professional development; ability to attract talented staff; high integrity work policy; a great culture; feeling valued by administrators; research opportunities; attractiveness of the campus; and great location.
The top five universities are, in order: Texas Tech University; Carnegie Mellon University; Brigham Young University; the University of Texas at Austin; and Iowa State University. UCSB joined other prestigious research universities on the list, including MIT, Stanford, Cornell, Yale, Rice, and Caltech. UC Santa Barbara was the only UC to make the Top 25 list.
Being a UCSB grad student and a full-time career staff member is a unique situation. We asked four current grad students and two grad alums what it has been like to be employed at UCSB while simultaneously pursuing a graduate degree.
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Haley Orton, Assistant Director of Graduate Admissions in the Graduate Division, is a Gevirtz Ph.D. student who is defending her dissertation today. Haley has been employed for the past five years in two departments on campus: the Writing Program and now the Graduate Division, while pursuing her M.A. and Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Organization.
“I am so grateful that my supervisor at my first job in the Writing Program agreed to let me pursue a higher degree and my subsequent supervisors allowed me the flexibility to finish that degree,” Haley said. “I have been able to apply what I’ve learned as a graduate student to my career and, similarly, I am lucky to have firsthand experiences in higher education to share with my peers in the classroom. My dissertation research was conducted entirely on campus and even now that I am not taking any coursework for my graduate degree I am auditing a course to improve my writing and update my desk manual in the Graduate Division.”
Katya Armistead, second from right, earned her doctoral degree from UCSB in 2012. Shalauna Miller, third from right, walked with her Ed.D. cohort and is currently ABD. Credit: Patricia MarroquinTaking on the dual roles of student and employee has its challenges, Haley concedes. “Being a full-time employee and graduate student is not easy but it has been incredibly rewarding. I feel that if I wanted to continue my research in the future I would be able to collaborate with the students, faculty, and staff at UCSB,” she says.
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Katya Armistead, Associate Dean of Student Life and Activities in the Office of Student Life, began her career at UCSB in 1990 after graduating from UCSB in 1988 with an undergraduate degree in Sociology. Her first job was as an administrative assistant in the Office of Admissions. “I was hungry to learn everything I could about the admissions process and how I could work directly with prospective students to help them decide if UCSB was the place for them,” Katya said.
Three years later, she moved from the processing side of the office to the outreach side, where she led a program for first-generation, low-income students from the Los Angeles area. She was one of the first staff members to open the Visitor Center in SAASB, and was a member of the Admissions staff for 17 years in such roles as campus visitor coordinator and director of the Visitor Center. “I moved to the Office of Student Life in 2007 to assume the position of assistant dean, and became an associate dean and director of the Office of Student Life last year.”
Katya, who earned her Ph.D. in 2012, says she loves working at UCSB.
“The opportunities that have been afforded to me as a staff member have allowed me to grow, learn, thrive, and contribute to the development of students as well as staff, as a staff member within the division of Student Affairs," Katya says. "Networking across campus, participating in a variety of committees, and being able to pursue and complete a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership have been just some of the many perks that I have been able to take advantage of as a staff member. I am reminded every day of how fortunate I am to pursue my passion of life-long learning and to be able to enjoy a career of providing service to students.”
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Micaela Morgan is a first-year Gevirtz student.Micaela Morgan has worked at UCSB for more than three years. She is the Program Coordinator for the UCSB McNair Scholars Program while also pursuing a Ph.D. in the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education.
She’s a first-year student with a research focus on Policy, Leadership, and Research Methods, with an expected graduation date of Spring 2017.
Micaela is a UCSB alum, holding a master’s degree in Chemistry as well as a bachelor’s degree from UC Santa Cruz.
“UCSB, and especially the program I work for, values higher education, which is evident by their giving staff members a flexible schedule and partial tuition remission," Micaela says. "I have always loved research and working with students; UCSB allows me to have the best of both worlds.”
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Monique Limon is a first-year grad student.Monique Limón has been working at UC Santa Barbara for more than seven years, currently as the Assistant Director of the UCSB McNair Scholars Program.
She’s a first-year Ph.D. student in the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, with a research focus on Policy, Leadership, and Research Methods.
"My ability to pursue a doctorate at UCSB is in part attributed to the supportive, flexible, and encouraging environment in our office,” Monique says. “I appreciate the value that is placed on pursuing an advanced degree and hope to model that for our undergraduate scholars."
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Shalauna Miller has worked at UCSB for 11 years. She is ABD in the Educational Leadership program.Shalauna Miller came to work at UCSB in 2002 fresh out of grad school in the Midwest, where she had earned an M.S. in College Student Counseling and Personnel Administration from Kansas State University. Today she is Associate Director of Orientation Programs and Parent Services at UCSB while in her 5th year (ABD) in the Educational Leadership program, anticipating completion in June 2014.
“I was drawn to campus because of the location and the people I had met throughout the interview process,” Shalauna says. “Never did I imagine that Santa Barbara and UCSB would be the place I would call home. I’ve stayed here because of the amazing colleagues that I’ve had the fortune of working and collaborating with, the opportunities to challenge myself professionally and personally, and the students who inspire me to work hard and find time to take advantage of all that this community has to offer.”
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Donna Coyne is the Associate Director of Admissions at UCSB and the Staff Advisor to the Regents – Designate. Donna, who joined UCSB in 1997, oversees several units supporting the evaluation and selection of more than 76,000 applications annually, as well as services to current undergraduate students.
Donna holds three degrees from UCSB: a B.A. in History (1996); an M.A. in Educational Leadership and Organizations (2006); and a Ph.D. in Education (2010).
Donna Coyne earned three degrees at UCSB. She is the university's Associate Director of Admissions.In her 16 years in Admissions, she has served as Admission Counselor, Comprehensive Review Coordinator, and Business Officer prior to her current position. Over the years, she has worked with many staff organizations and served on a number of committees, including chairing the Chancellor’s Staff Advisory Council (CSAC).
“Beyond its excellent academic reputation, UC Santa Barbara provides excellent growth opportunities for staff,” said Donna. “I not only was able to work while attending graduate school, I have had the opportunity to participate in multiple professional development programs, serve on campus committees and boards, and learn leadership skills from fantastic people. I have been encouraged to innovate beyond the scope of my job, look for better ways and to see the big picture while serving the individual student. The staff at UCSB are so dedicated with a strong work ethic not commonly seen!"
For more information on the Glassdoor university employer rankings, read the Glassdoor article and a column on Forbes.com.