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Seema Sehrawat

Seema Sehrawat

Dr. Seema Sehrawat serves as the Chief of Staff to President Steve Perez at Chico State.  In this role, she is a trusted advisor and consultant for the President, who began his position in July 2023.  Dr. Sehrawat served the previous president and was instrumental in delivering a smooth transition for President Perez.

As a member of the President's Cabinet, she serves in many leadership roles, including chair of the Title IX Implementation Team established under a California State University initiative.  She is charged with launching a campuswide effort to update and refresh the University's strategic plan.  She also has played a primary role in improving crisis management and safety on campus through threat management and prevention and education efforts.  As the University strategizes to increase enrollment and make budgetary adjustments to support the current student body, Dr. Sehrawat is at the heart of this work.

Dr. Sehrawat has a comprehensive background in social work, information technology, accounting, and construction management.  As a member of the Chico State community since 2009, she brings extensive experience from multiple roles and colleges.  Her willingness to learn from and understand a wide range of perspectives has proven a strong asset in each position she has held.

After receiving her PhD in Social Work, Dr. Sehrawat joined Chico State School of Social Work as a tenure-track faculty member in August 2009.  She has a strong record of research, publications, presentations, and grants.  Her publications include topics on distance education, digital storytelling, hospice social work, gerontology, and policy analysis.  She founded the Interdisciplinary Center on Aging for Chico State while serving as a faculty member and led that center for 5 years.  She also served as the director of Distance Learning (DL) Program (2015-2018) in the School of Social Work, focusing on building partnerships with social service agencies and community colleges in the region to provide access to social work education in the North State.  In addition, Dr. Sehrawat served as the India Initiative Coordinator for Chico State, representing the University while participating in many trips to recruit international students.

From January 2019 to July 2022, Dr. Sehrawat served as Associate Dean for the College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Construction Management (ECC) and as director for the Concrete Industry Management (CIM) program.  She managed the operational and administrative affairs of the college and collaborated with the ECC leadership team, student competition teams and clubs, and larger campus community.  She secured critical funding and managed several construction projects for ECC, including the Environmental Engineering Lab, Omron CO-Lab, and seven Hi-flex classrooms. She has a record of fiscal responsibility, building partnerships, and bringing together collaborators to advance strategic priorities.  Dr. Sehrawat's leadership style is transformational, and she keeps students as the focus of her inspiration.  She finds joy in helping to transform lives and aspires to impact systems and structures of higher education as that opens doors for the most vulnerable populations and paves the road for social mobility.