Sara Lacagnino

Dr. Sara N. Lacagnino has been a member of the UCNJ Union College of Union County, NJ community since 2009 and has served in various roles at the college over the years including Title V Project Director, Assistant Dean of Humanities, Dean of Curriculum and Accreditation, Interim Dean of Plainfield Campus and Allied Sciences, and Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs. Currently, Dr. Lacagnino serves as the Vice President for Academic Affairs. In this role, she provides leadership for the Academic Affairs Division: Allied Sciences, Humanities, STEM, Social Science, Business & History, Institute for Intensive English, and Learning Resources. Dr. Lacagnino oversees accreditation activities and serves as UCNJ’s Accreditation Liaison Officer. In addition, Dr. Lacagnino is the Lead Affiliate for the UCNJ Institutional Team for Excelencia in Education’s Presidents for Latino Student Success Network.

Over the course of her career, Dr. Lacagnino has significantly contributed to the student success agenda, leading strategic and innovative initiatives that draw upon data and research. Her experience spans curriculum development and assessment, program design and evaluation, grant management, and inquiry-based innovation, with a proven track record of translating data to achieve student success outcomes. Dr. Lacagnino has collaborated with faculty, staff, and students in the design and execution of grant projects focused on acceleration in developmental education and ESL, integration of experiential learning and industry-valued credentials in the curricula, and implementation of a comprehensive and intrusive advising model including high-impact practices. Additionally, she established an expanded professional development program aimed at improving student success outcomes.

Dr. Lacagnino holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership, Management and Policy, M.A. in Education with a concentration in Human Resources Training and Development, and a B.S. in Business Finance from Seton Hall University.