The State of the College Union
Editor’s Note: “From Curiosity to Culture,” the second piece in the 2026 State of the College Union series, provides a team of student affairs professionals from the University of California—Irvine the opportunity to tell the story of how AI has been integrated into their division’s everyday activities providing student services. At this campus, AI is not seen as an intervenor, but instead as a “success accelerator.”
Artificial intelligence has arrived in higher education, moving from an emerging concept to a present reality already embedded in the daily work of colleges and universities, from AI-powered advising platforms to generative tools reshaping administrative work. Coverage from The Chronicle of Higher Education, Times Higher Education, and EDUCAUSE have all documented a sector working through real questions about adoption, ethics, governance, and equity—questions that are especially pressing for the professionals who work closest to students.
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Edgar J. Dormitorio is chief of staff and assistant vice chancellor for the Division of Student Affairs at the University of California–Irvine. In this role, he advises and assists the vice chancellor of student affairs with managing the division which includes the areas of the Office of the Vice Chancellor, Wellness Health and Counseling, Auxiliary Services & Business Enterprises, and Student Life and Leadership. The Division of Student Affairs is the campus’s largest division and is dedicated to supporting students’ well-being and fostering their growth.
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Wayne Fields is currently serving as the assistant director for Student Affairs Information Technology at the University of California–Irvine, where he has led numerous high-visibility, high-impact campus initiatives. His current focus centers on artificial intelligence, where he is actively engaged in educating students and staff on the effective and ethical use of emerging technologies.
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Laura Monje-Paulson, Ph.D., serves as the director of assessment, research, and evaluation for the Division of Student Affairs at the University of California–Irvine (UCI). She sits at the intersection of data and decision-making; her work is essentially helping teams ask the right questions, find the right data, and figure out what to do with it. Recently, Monje-Paulson has focused on the transformative role of AI in streamlining assessment and organizational change. She is committed to helping the division evolve through data-driven storytelling, ensuring that every assessment effort translates into a clearer picture of how student affairs is moving the needle for UCI students.
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Sherwynn Umali has built most of her career at University of California–Irvine, where she's now in her 20th year. She currently serves as deputy chief of staff for the Division of Student Affairs, working on strategic initiatives, emergency management, free speech and free expression, and leading the division's communications and marketing team.
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