New executive vice provost steps into role at West campus

Marjorie S. Zatz has been appointed interim vice president and executive vice provost to ASU's West campus, replacing Mark Searle, who was named vice president for academic personnel. Zatz, who has been with ASU since 1982, assumes her new position effective immediately.

“We are very pleased that Dr. Marjorie Zatz has agreed to serve in this important leadership position,” says Elizabeth D. Capaldi, executive vice president and university provost and professor of psychology. “Dr. Zatz brings an extraordinary combination of intelligence, academic credentials and breadth of experience to this new position.”

As interim vice president and executive vice provost, Zatz is responsible for coordinating all activities on campus to ensure all services, programs, scholarly activities and community relations advance in keeping with ASU's vision and mission, and that they are aligned with the distinctive environment and academic programs for which the West campus has become known.

“It is a privilege to serve in this important position,” Zatz says. “ASU's West campus has such a rich history and an unbounded future, and I am committed to creating an unparalleled combination of academic excellence, access for all qualified students, and engagement in the larger community.”

Before joining the West campus, Zatz served as university vice provost for academic personnel. She was responsible for all personnel matters involving faculty and academic professionals across the university, including promotion and tenure, and faculty development and diversity. Zatz also served four years as associate dean of the division of graduate studies, responsible for graduate student programs.

Zatz earned her doctorate in sociology with a minor in Latin-American studies from Indiana University. Her research and teaching interests address the ways in which race, ethnicity and gender influence juvenile and criminal court processing and sanctioning; social constructions of race and gender; Chicano/a gangs; and comparative justice, particularly Latin-American legal systems.

In 2006, the third edition of her book, “Images of Color, Images of Crime,” was published by Roxbury Publishing Co. Zatz also has published two additional books, as well as more than 50 articles and chapters in scholarly journals and academic presses, including Criminology, Journal of Quantitative Criminology, Social Problems, Justice Quarterly, and Law and Society Review. Honors and awards include the American Society of Criminology's Herbert Block Award, the American Society of Criminology Division of Women and Crime's Senior Scholar Award and the ASU Faculty Women's Association's Outstanding Mentor of Women Award.