Dr. D’Andra Mull, vice president for Student Life at the University of Florida, has been selected to join 18 other top higher education professionals in the American College Personnel Association’s 2022 Diamond Honoree cohort
Honorees, chosen based on their outstanding and sustained support of college students’ holistic well-being and success, will use the recognition to raise money for the American College Personnel Association, or ACPA, throughout 2022, helping fuel the organization’s research and programs.
Since the program was established in 1999, Diamond Honorees have generated nearly $500,000 in support of ACPA’s work to promote professional development within student affairs, a field comprised of practitioners dedicated to enabling students to grow through meaningful college experiences and robust support.
“I’m incredibly humbled to be included in this year’s ACPA Diamond Honoree class with such amazing and prolific student affairs professionals and faculty,” Mull said. “Through this honor, I will be afforded the opportunity to champion the skill development of the next generation in the profession, which is a deep passion of mine”
In the Division of Student Life at UF, Mull leads a team of more than 600 professionals across 25 departments that cultivate rich experiences for all undergraduate, graduate and professional students.
Mull earned her Ph.D. in educational policy and leadership from the Ohio State University and later served at the associate vice president and dean of students for the Office of Student Life there. Since arriving at UF in January 2020, much of her work has centered on creating meaningful experiences for students, fueled by UF traditions, amid the pandemic.
Mull oversaw the teams that created Recharge Days in spring 2021, an outdoor concert for physically distanced students and welcomed many students back to UF for the first time in more than a year in June 2021.
In summer 2020, she directed the launch of an initiative to partner with community leaders to support students in East Gainesville, a network of historically Black neighborhoods east of Main Street. Dr. Lane Washington, who oversees the initiative, will help lead Mull’s fundraising efforts in the coming year.
“Her dedication to the student experience, mentorship, staff development and equity make her a worthy candidate for this award,” said Washington, who has worked alongside Mull at the Ohio State University and UF for a total of eight years. “It is nearly impossible to describe her impact on the field, but I know she will wear the honor of Diamond Honoree well.”
Learn more about Student Life at UF.
Writer: Halle Marchese, hmarchese@ufl.edu
Source: D’Andra Mull, d.mull@ufl.edu
Lane Washington, lanewashington@ufl.edu