By Nicole Park
Daily Titan Staff Writer

Dean of Students Kandy Mink Salas celebrated her 20 years at Cal State Fullerton in July. For the past two decades, Mink Salas has held several positions involved with student services. Her dedication to students at CSUF earned her recognition at the annual region-six conference of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.

In an office still decorated with congratulatory banners from her staff, the dean listed previous job titles beginning with her budding Titan career as an activities coordinator in 1989. When she started that position at CSUF, she occupied the same office she does today in the Titan Student Union, Room 235.

Other positions Mink Salas has held on campus include associate director of Student Life and acting associate vice president for Student Affairs.

“I identified Kandy’s skills and talents from very early on and asked her to be my assistant before she went on to assume greater responsibilities,” said Dr. Robert L. Palmer, vice president for Student Affairs.

As her supervisor, Palmer said, “She’s great. Kandy is extremely, extremely intelligent. When you combine her knowledge with such a strong commitment to students, that is a great combo for anyone working in student affairs.”

Mink Salas oversees associate deans from each of the eight academic colleges on campus, sits on the Associated Students Inc. Board of Directors as a voting member and is responsible for a multitude of student services: Student Life (clubs and organizations), Judicial Affairs, New Student Programs, Leadership and Multicultural Development (Greek Life) and Honors and Scholars Support Services.

On Nov. 3, Mink Salas was recognized for her occupational achievements at NASPA’s 2009 regional conference in San Jose. She accepted a plaque that named her the year’s Sandra Kuchler Excellence in Mentoring award recipient.

The late Sandra Kuchler, dean of students at Cal State San Marcos, was also honored by a group of colleagues after her battle against cancer ended in 1998. The award was founded through NASPA, a professional association for those involved in college life.
One woman Kuchler made a deep impact on was Lea Jargin, her former assistant at Cal State San Marcos and the current assistant to Palmer.

“With the award, I wanted to honor the role Sandy played in my life. She is the reason that I got into the profession. Five months after she suggested it to me, I was in grad school,” Jargin said.

It was that kind of motivational attitude and mentoring that led Jargin to show her appreciation by nominating Kuchler for the memorial award.

Though she helped establish the regional award, Jargin had never entered a nomination for a recipient until this year, when she served as the principle nominator for Mink Salas’ award as well.

“To honor Kandy is just so natural. She and Sandy have so much in common. They are both strong student advocates who are committed to the profession and want to better their educational institutions,” Jargin said.

Jargin was able to attend the conference along with a handful of colleagues and graduate students.

“Some graduate students from our new Student Affairs master’s program were able to be there, and it was nice to have the new generation see one of our foundational leaders be honored,” Jargin said.

As the leader of the nomination, Jargin gathered supporting letters of nomination from three other CSUF colleagues.

One letter came from Associate Dean Juanita Razo. Razo met Mink Salas 12 years ago when she was a graduate student. In her two-page letter, Razo detailed how Mink Salas mentored others throughout her professional career, beginning in college and continuing today. Razo now has an office just a few doors down from the woman who inspired her.

Always striving to help young adults become successful, Mink Salas is valued by students for her wise guidance.

Joseph Lopez, executive vice president of ASI said Mink Salas, “has always been a great source for good advice.”

“Kandy is very helpful. (ASI President) Juli (Santos) and I can go to her for advice on anything,” Lopez said. “We’ve had a lot of challenging issues to face this year, and she’s always let us drop in on her.”

Mink Salas says that helping student leaders is simply a part of her job that she is happy to do.

“My job is to work for Cal State Fullerton students and the main part of that is making sure they are successful when they get here,” Mink Salas said.

The best advice Mink Salas has to offer students is this: “Make sure to, every so often, find a quiet, peaceful time to have an honest conversation with yourself about your goals and dreams. Be clear and focused on what those are. As you get older, you realize time is precious. Be passionate about everything you do instead of just doing something because it’s the easier path or what someone else wants of you.”