Leslie Taylor, assistant vice president for university enrollment communications, has been named interim Vice President for Enrollment and Access.
CSU Provost and Executive Vice President Rick Miranda made the announcement following the Aug. 13 death of Melissa Trifiletti, who lost her long battle with cancer after being named Vice President for Enrollment and Access in April.
“Leslie has been running the VPEA office in Melissa’s absence these past two months and worked closely with Melissa in recent years,” said Rick Miranda, Provost and Executive Vice President. “She has a strong commitment to the division and its people, and a clear sense of how we need to move forward to keep everything on track. It is my expectation that Leslie will operate with a collaborative leadership style that takes maximum advantage of the leadership team’s broad knowledge, experience, and strengths.”
Taylor has been at CSU since 1998, serving in a variety of strategic communications roles. She has served since 2013 in her dual role, reporting to vice presidents of External Relations and Enrollment and Access.
A dear friend
Taylor considered Trifiletti a dear friend and worked closely with her to help the University recruit the largest and most diverse classes in CSU history. She helped create strategic brand messaging and was responsible for managing marketing and communications in the recruitment of prospective students.
She said it will be challenging to step into the role but added that her primary early goal will be helping grieving employees in Enrollment and Access deal with Trifiletti’s death. She then hopes to implement many of the initiatives Trifiletti had outlined for the division.
“I was really looking forward to working with Melissa and seeing the next phase of her remarkable impact on campus,” Taylor said. “Although we have a lot to process and deal with right now, our unit is fortunate to have strong and cohesive leadership that is committed to taking care of each other while remaining focused on getting critical work done.”
Taylor earned a BS in human development at the University of Oklahoma, where she also competed on the track and field team. She earned an master’s degree in family and consumer science at the University of Idaho.
