Starting March 10, the Office of Student Life and Formation at Point Loma Nazarene University will be welcoming Jason Cha as the new dean of students after an expansive search when Jake Gilbertson, former dean of students, departed last spring.
Mary Paul, vice president of student life and formation, sent an email to all undergraduate students on Feb. 10 regarding Cha’s arrival: “We are thrilled to announce that after an extensive prayerful search, we have a new dean of students in the Office of Student Life and Formation. Jason Cha will be joining PLNU on March 10.”
Cha previously worked with Semester at Sea as the living and learning coordinator where he started a church on the ship. He recently served as the dean of student affairs at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles. Collectively, Cha has 20 years of experience in diversity work, student affairs in residential life and in the dean position.
“My journey in the field has shaped my approach to the work by infusing both a deep belief in the ‘magic’ of the work [student learning outside the classroom] and infusing an identity conscious approach to the work,” Cha said in an email interview. “The work is more about the people and the rich learning and development than it is about the work itself.”
Paul said the search committee, which is composed of people inside and outside the Office of Student Life and Formation, conducted a search that started at the end of the 2024 spring semester and continued through the summer.
“We [the search committee] made an offer to a top candidate in July and that person ended up going somewhere else. We reopened the search at the end of September,” Paul told The Point. “We had several good candidates come through. We did Zoom interviews in December and ended up bringing two people on for on-campus interviews in January and ultimately made the decision to make the offer to Jason.”
Cha, originally from Maryland, has a bachelor’s degree in business from North Carolina State University, a master’s of education from the University of Vermont and a doctorate in higher education from Azusa Pacific University. His dissertation explored racial consciousness within Christian higher education.
“Jason has a diverse background in student affairs and deep Christian commitment,” Paul said. “We feel blessed that he has agreed to come and join the Student Life and Formation Office.”
Cha said he will bring an identity-conscious approach to his practice and hopes to infuse that into PLNU’s culture. He said as an Asian American male and first generation college student, he’s learned from his own experiences how to be aware of others’ identities.
“This is foremost informed by my Christian faith that is at the core of my ‘why’ and my purpose as well as my understanding of the world,” Cha said. “I hope to bring all of these identities to work each day and into every student interaction. This gives us, as professionals, the tools to create a deeper sense of belonging and community for all students.”
Cha said before setting goals and priorities, he will need to acclimate himself to PLNU’s culture.
“I’ll observe and take in the work that is being done before exploring any changes or proposing new priorities,” Cha said.
Paul said that while the dean of students position was vacant, the job was split between three people, including herself and Melanie Wolf. Paul said that they are thankful Cha will be arriving during spring break to have conversations with his team and begin planning for next year.
“None of us had the capacity to really dream and envision possibilities with all those [residential life and student engagement] programs,” Paul said.
While the position of dean of students was empty, Residential Life reorganized to provide RDs with leadership. RDs reported to the director of residential life rather than the dean of students in an effort to provide support during the transition. Kathy Lee, RD of Nease Hall West said in an email interview that she will be working with Cha as she begins a new role as director of student pathways and thriving.
“The goal and purpose of this new role is to create a collaborative model, in partnership with various campus departments, to help create a developmental roadmap/pathway for our undergraduate students that help guide them through their time at PLNU, enhance student engagement, and find a deeper sense of belonging,” Lee said.
With this restructuring, as dean of students Cha will directly oversee:
- Director of Community Life, vacant
- Director of Nicholson Commons, Milton Karahadian
- Director of Multicultural and International Student Services, Richard Eberheart
- Director of Student Pathways and Thriving, Kathy Lee
- Director of New Student Engagement, Connor Mathisen
- Director of Residential Life, Beth Denney
- Community Life Marketing Coordinator, Elaine Giles
- Assistant to the Dean of Students and Student Engagement, Esme Jarquin
Cha said he is honored to be serving as the next dean of students at PLNU and looks forward to partnering with the staff in the good work that is already being done on campus.
“I look forward to serving the students by continuing to build a community of both understanding and compassion as well as accountability and responsibility to support each other.”
Tessa Balc