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Meet º£½ÇÉçÇø's administrators, starting with our top Owl, Interim President Sandra Bulmer.

Sandra Bulmer

Interim President

On July 1, 2025, Dr. Sandra Bulmer assumed the role of interim president of º£½ÇÉçÇø, a public institution of over 9,300 students in New Haven, Connecticut.

She has extensive experience in higher education, including 26 years at º£½ÇÉçÇø, and previously served as the dean of the university’s College of Health and Human Services and as a professor in º£½ÇÉçÇø’s Department of Public Health.

Bulmer was the lead academic administrator for the programming, design, and opening of º£½ÇÉçÇø’s new 94,000-sq.-ft. College of Health and Human Services building in September 2022. Together with her team she introduced several new innovative degree programs, and she oversaw the opening of new departments and centers at the university to improve the health of the º£½ÇÉçÇø and New Haven communities.

She received her Ph.D. in health education from Texas Woman’s University, an M.S. in physical education with a focus on exercise physiology from the University of Oregon, and a B.S. in physical education from California State University Hayward.

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Lillian Wanjagi

Vice President for Finance and Administration
Chief Financial Officer

Lillian Wanjagi joined º£½ÇÉçÇø as the university’s Vice President for Finance & Administration and Chief Financial Officer on January 24, 2025.

She came to º£½ÇÉçÇø from her role as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) & Vice Chancellor, Business & Finance at Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville, NC. At FSU, she oversaw a $220 million-plus construction and major renovation program and guided the development and execution of the university’s financial strategy. Wanjagi also served as CFO and Vice President for Finance and Administration at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wis., and as Executive Director of Facilities Administration at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, where she led the implementation of IBM’s Maximo Integrated Workplace Management System (WMS) for more than 20,000 users.

Wanjagi earned a bachelor of science in business administration in accounting from Wingate University, an MBA in international business from Gardner-Webb University, and a doctor of education in higher education administration–leadership from the University of Houston.

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Julia Irwin

Interim Provost

Julia Irwin joined º£½ÇÉçÇø in 2008 and rose through the faculty ranks to earn a full professorship in psychology in 2017. She has an extensive publication record, with her work focused on audiovisual speech perception in children, including those with autism spectrum disorders. Prior to her appointment as as interim dean of the SCSU School of Graduate and Professional Studies in 2022, Julia was a senior research scientist at Haskins Laboratories and the director of the LEARN Center at Yale University.

Closing in on being a member of our SPAR million-dollar club, Julia has been Principal Investigator on several grants from the NIH Division of Deafness and Communication Disorders. Importantly, she has also mentored many of our º£½ÇÉçÇø scholars at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. Julia’s wide-ranging extra-curricular contributions include serving on the BOR Faculty Awards Committee, as Coordinator of STEM Grants and Contracts, as a member of PACES, and as the university’s Research Integrity Officer and Director of Research Protection.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the State University of New York, Oswego, and holds an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut.

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Tracy Tyree

Vice President for Student Affairs

Tracy Tyree joined º£½ÇÉçÇø in 2013 from her most recent position as associate vice president of student affairs at the University of South Florida (USF). USF is a public Research I institution within the State University System of Florida, with about 48,000 students on four campuses. She brings a track record of commitment to student success, effective senior administration, and innovation in student programming and support services.

Tyree strives to provide support to students through Student Affairs services and programs and to create the climate, culture, and opportunities for students to realize their best possible college experience, both inside and outside of the classroom.

Tyree earned her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland and her M.A. from Indiana University, both in college student personnel administration. She earned her B.S.B.A. in finance from the University of Florida.

Colleen Bielitz

Interim Vice President for Institutional Advancement
Executive Director, SCSU Foundation

Colleen Bielitz was named º£½ÇÉçÇø’s interim vice president for institutional advancement in October 2025. She oversees Development, Integrated Communications & Marketing, and Alumni Relations and serves as executive director of the SCSU Foundation. Since 2018, Bielitz has served as associate vice president for strategic initiatives and outreach at º£½ÇÉçÇø, where she has led a variety of transformative efforts in fundraising, workforce development, and global engagement. Her work at º£½ÇÉçÇø includes co-founding Project Blue, launching the IMXR Initiative focused on immersive learning technologies, and leading the Office of Workforce and Lifelong Learning (OWLL), which generated over $350,000 in net revenue last year. She has also expanded the university’s international presence through strategic global partnerships and the launch of the COIL Hub for collaborative online learning.

Before joining º£½ÇÉçÇø, Bielitz held senior leadership roles at Becker College, Cabrini University, and Miller/Cook & Associates, where she led innovation centers, developed academic programs, and helped institutions achieve record enrollment growth. Throughout her career, she has secured more than $16 million in funding through grants, partnerships, and campaigns. She is a frequent speaker on topics including AI, XR, sustainability, and women in STEM, and was recently named a finalist for the CT Technology Council’s Women of Innovation Award.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from West Chester University, a Master of Science in organizational leadership from Cabrini University, and a Ph.D. in education with a specialization in organizational leadership from Northcentral University.

Sergio Pérez

Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Sergio Pérez joined º£½ÇÉçÇø as its new vice president for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on May 30, 2025.

Perez comes to º£½ÇÉçÇø from Loras College in Dubuque, Ia., where he served in the DEI space since 2016, most recently heading the College Diversity Office and acting as an advisor to the president. In this role, Perez was charged with overseeing the institutional diversity committee, with a focus of improving the campus climate and research opportunities for Black, Latinx, and LGBTQIA+ identifying students.

Perez has a wide range of experience supporting undocumented scholars and those with intersectional identities. As the DEI committee chair for Iowa’s League of United Latin American Citizens, the country’s oldest and largest civil rights group for Latinos, Perez served as a member of LULAC’s National LGBTQIA+ Affairs Committee. For the last two years, he was named National LULAC’s Advisor of the Year by the organization in Albuquerque, N.M., and Las Vegas, Nev.

He holds a B.A. in political science and international studies from Loras College, an M.S.Ed in student affairs administration and higher education from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, and an Ed.D. from Edgewood College.

Nilvio Perez

Interim Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management

Nilvio Perez joined º£½ÇÉçÇø as director of undergraduate admissions in 2021, bringing more than 20 years of progressive experience in admissions and enrollment management, with a career spanning frontline recruitment, operational leadership, and institutional strategy. He has collaborated with university leaders to shape first-year enrollment strategies, identify new recruitment opportunities, and implement technology-based approaches to student engagement. He has also strengthened partnerships across key campus units, including Integrated Communications and Marketing and student-facing departments, to support the success of incoming classes. Prior to º£½ÇÉçÇø, Perez helped steer admissions at Central Connecticut State University and Albertus Magnus College. Across his career, he has demonstrated a strong commitment to student access, data-informed decision-making, operational excellence, and advancing institutional enrollment goals.

Perez holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Bridgeport and a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Albertus Magnus College.