PLU Officers

As Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Joanna Gregson, Ph.D., serves as the university’s Chief Academic Officer, leading the academic division and ensuring the intellectual vitality of the PLU mission. In this role, she collaborates closely with President Allan Belton and the President’s Council to drive strategic institutional planning. Her current portfolio also includes oversight of the Office of Admission and the Division of Enrollment Management, where she aligns enrollment strategy with academic programming to meet shifting student interests.

Dr. Gregson’s leadership is defined by a commitment to institutional effectiveness and the overall health of the university. By fostering collaboration across diverse constituents—from faculty governance to enrollment management—she ensures that PLU’s strategic goals remain rooted in our academic identity. Through a synthesis of data-informed decision-making and a unified institutional narrative, she works to align university resources with our mission of thoughtful inquiry, service, leadership, and care.

Dr. Gregson joined PLU’s Department of Sociology in 1998 and was promoted to the rank of Professor in 2012. Her scholarly background in qualitative research methods informs her approach to leadership, emphasizing deep listening, stakeholder engagement, and the synthesis of complex institutional data.

Before her appointment as Provost, Dr. Gregson built an extensive record of leadership and governance at PLU. She chaired the Department of Sociology and the Women’s & Gender Studies Program, and held numerous elected faculty leadership roles, including Chair of the Faculty. Her work on the Rank and Tenure and Governance committees shaped her understanding of faculty affairs and institutional policy, while her service on the Campus Life committee provided a holistic view of the student experience and the administrative structures required to support it.

Dr. Gregson earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology from Western Washington University and her Ph.D. from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Throughout her career, she has been recognized for her commitment to the PLU community, receiving the Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching (2005), the Faculty Award for Excellence in Mentoring (2011), and the PLU Mortar Board Society “Top Prof” award (2017).

As the Vice President for Administrative Services and Chief Operating Officer, Shalita Myrick leads the Division of Administrative Services, including the business office, human resources, risk management, and facilities. She also plays a critical role in the continued development of the Partnership for Health Innovation and many other strategic initiatives. 

Myrick previously served as the principal project manager at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. She’s also held leadership roles at Texas Children’s Hospital, the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente, and AT&T.

Shalita holds a master’s degree in facilities management from The University of Texas at San Antonio and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Spelman College. She is also a graduate of the Los Angeles African American Women’s Public Policy Institute and serves the International Facilities Management Association’s Academic Facilities Council as the chair for young professionals.

Joanna Royce-Davis, Ph.D, has been a cornerstone of Pacific Lutheran University’s senior leadership team since 2014, when she joined our community as the Vice President for Student Life. Dr. Royce-Davis’s career is defined by a deep-seated commitment to student learning and academic mission, including a decade of service as a graduate program director and foundational work as a faculty member teaching across the academic spectrum, from first year requirements to doctoral seminars. Her background uniquely positions Dr. Royce-Davis to understand and foster a holistic educational experience for all students, connecting classroom learning with co-curricular engagement and applied learning.

Dr. Royce-Davis is known for her collaborative approach to bridging the university’s academic mission and overall student experience, driving initiatives that support student success, well-being, and a vibrant campus community. With an educational background spanning Indiana University (B.A.), San Jose State University (M.A.), and Syracuse University (Ph.D.), Joanna possesses a sophisticated understanding of the diverse strengths of public and private higher education. She is a recognized expert in inclusive and active pedagogy, a focus honed during her time in Syracuse University’s prestigious Future Professoriate Project. This intensive preparation for university teaching informs her holistic view of the university as a unified learning environment. Similarly, Dr. Royce-Davis’s start as a middle and high school teacher in a tribally-run school system grounds her approach to learning as relational, interdependent, and rooted in place. Her career trajectory reflects a rare breadth of expertise, including curricular innovation, instructional excellence, and sustaining a rigorous research agenda focused on equity-minded educational systems, social-emotional learning, integrative wellbeing approaches, and leadership development.

Dr. Royce-Davis understands that the cores of student experience are not siloed, but rather an interaction between student experiences in their academic programs and in their related opportunities for reflection, engagement, and application in co-curricular settings. In collaboration with faculty partners, Dr. Royce-Davis co-founded and co-designed Pacific’s First-Year Experience, applying an equity-focused lens to modernize the university’s foundational curriculum. She has contributed insights from that nationally recognized program to the evolution of PLU’s General Education course, PLUS 100.

Dr. Royce-Davis’s executive leadership is underpinned by a sustained commitment to academic scholarship and the advancement of collective knowledge. Her research portfolio includes such focal areas as equity-centered systems, leadership learning, and integrated wellbeing, all of which shape her data-informed approach to institutional excellence. By consistently presenting collaborative research within her broader higher education network, she remains at the forefront of national trends in student success. Her standing as a distinguished educator and scholar is reflected in numerous honors, including her recognition as a NASPA Pillar of the Profession.

As Vice President for the University Relations Division, Dan Lee is responsible for creating and implementing a unified and comprehensive plan to advance PLU’s mission. Working with a team of about 50 staff members, the Vice President creates a vision and strategies for donor, alumni and parent engagement, as well as university communications. The Vice President directs initiatives to enhance PLU’s image and brand, and executes plans to increase support from individuals, government, foundations, and corporations. Daniel reports to the President of the University and works closely with the Board of Regents.

Until 2014, Dan served as Vice President of External Relations for Lutheran World Relief, an international relief and development organization with programs in 35 countries, serving more than 7 million people. As the chief fundraising, donor relations and constituent engagement executive, Dan set the strategic direction of all external-facing efforts and guided LWR through three years of record-setting growth.

Prior to his role as Vice President, Dan led LWR’s annual giving program and spearheaded the first comprehensive re-branding and website redevelopment process in more than 10 years. As Senior Director of Marketing for LWR, Dan implemented numerous fundraising and communications initiatives, including the creation of LWR’s highly-successful alternative giving program.

Dan received his B.A. in Communications from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota and a Master of Divinity degree from Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

As Associate Vice President and Chief Institutional Effectiveness Officer, Karen McConnell, Ph.D. works closely with all divisions of the university to guide key strategic efforts and to measure and report on achievements and outcomes as they relate to accreditation, the strategic plan and fulfillment of the university mission. In addition to her role as CIEO, McConnell serves as the university’s Accreditation Liaison Officer with the Northwest Commission of Colleges and Universities and is the senior administrator for the Office of Institutional Research and Analytics as well as Information and Technology Services.

Dr. McConnell joined PLU in 1998 as a faculty member in the Department of Kinesiology where she retains her faculty status as a Professor. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sport Medicine from the University of the Pacific; a Master’s degree in Exercise Science also from UOP and a Ph.D in Curriculum and Instruction in Exercise and Wellness Education from Arizona State University. During her tenure at PLU McConnell served 14 years as Associate Dean for Kinesiology and four years as Dean for the School of Education and Kinesiology. In addition, she was the Director of Assessment for five years prior to becoming the Chief Institutional Effectiveness Officer.

McConnell has a long record of service to the University including the Educational Policies Committee, Faculty Affairs Committee, Faculty Executive Committee, First Year Experience Committee, Benefits Committee and three different General Education reform and oversight committees. In addition, McConnell remains active as a scholar and author having published five k-12 health textbooks. McConnell regularly consults in areas of curricular design, program review and assessment development.