Dean Carolyn Wilkins-Greene’s office is a cozy, yellow space with a painting by Picasso, an organized display of decorated envelopes, and a bag of jellybeans and chocolate, making guests feel right at home.
She came to De Anza College in 1989, taught in the Intercultural/International Studies Division from 1994 to 2002, then was hired as De Anza’s Social Sciences Division dean.
She has degrees from the University of Texas and Stanford, has taught at the Stanford School of Education, and strongly supports undertakings for faculty development and student success. A goal of hers is to close performance gaps between students of various social, ethnic and racial backgrounds, and she is confident that De Anza will be able to accomplish this.
A former student refers to Wilkins-Greene as her “catalyst for learning,” and says it was Wilkins-Greene’s courses that enabled her to develop as a political activist.
De Anza is well known for producing a number of innovative initiatives, and Wilkins-Greene enjoys helping move these projects to fruition. She’s been involved with The Night of Magic fundraiser event to help improve social science labs and facilities, the Math Performance Success program, De Anza’s Accreditation Self-Study, the Strategic Planning Initiative, diversity celebrations and the Pacific Graduate School of Psychology to help De Anza students transition to a bachelor’s degree in psychology program.
“We’re like a choir, singing together as a harmony for the success of students,” she says.