Yan Searcy begins his new position at CSUN as dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, replacing Stella Theodoulou.

He was drawn to CSUN because of our mission statement and vision. The prospect of being in an urban area with a vast, diverse student body was an inspiration and a major motivating factor in his decision to make the change.

Husband and father of two young boys, Searcy packed up his family for an expeditious cross-country haul, making his way to the West Coast in three days, leaving behind his previous position as the Associate Dean of Health and Human Services at Southern Connecticut State University.

His new title will keep him plenty busy being the head administrator to the college, serving faculty and students alike, budget planning, responding to students concerns and complaints about classes, scheduling, and grade issues among countless other duties. All this, unfortunately, will take him away from teaching.

“The best way to learn is in a classroom,” Searcy said. “This position sort of robs me of interacting with students on a daily basis.”

However, he wants to make it a point to be able to get to know students and faculty. He plans on making formal introductions so people know he is available for any inquiries within the college that people may have but are unaware that deans are accessible.

He doesn’t plan on starting his job with a demanding attitude to change everything about the college but instead, plans to actively listen and be very student focused in assisting and helping achieve individual and cumulative success.

Searcy hopes to learn vast amounts from the stellar leadership within our campus. To the students, he hopes to remind them to make the most out of their time here. He understands that CSUN is unique in that most of the students here aren’t your average, 4-year-college student, and because of this, sometimes it’s difficult for students to feel engaged in college culture. He hopes that he can make their time here really worthwhile.

“The destination of the degree is important,” Searcy said. “However, the journey to the degree is also very important, maybe even more so. Education is so transformative of a process.”