Cecilia Rokusek - SVU Vice President

Dr. Cecilia Rokusek has had a 28-year career in higher education. During that time she has distinguished herself as an outstanding teacher, scholar, and administrator.

Born and raised in Tabor, South Dakota, she was able to maintain her Czech heritage. Throughout high school and college, Dr. Rokusek was active in the Czech Heritage Preservation Society in Tabor. She was also active in numerous Czech theatrical productions in the area.

After completing her Master's degree at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln where she was a Regents Scholar, Dr. Rokusek started her academic career at her undergraduate alma mater, Mount Marty College in Yankton, South Dakota. During her six-year tenure there she served as an Assistant Professor and Chair of the Dietetics Program. In 1982 she joined the faculty at the University of South Dakota School of Medicine in the Department of Family Medicine. In 1983 she received her doctorate from the University of South Dakota in Adult and Higher Education Administration.

In 1987 she was appointed to a key administrative position in the School of Medicine where she served as the Executive Director for the Center for Developmental Disabilities and Assistant Vice President of Health Affairs. In 1993 she accepted a deanship at Governors State University in University Park, Illinois. She served as Dean of Health Professions and full professor there until 1999 when she moved to America's newest state university in Fort Myers, Florida. She is now serving as Special Assistant to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers. She continues to do nutrition-related research and is active on numerous federal grant initiatives in the area of gerontology and behavioral health. Dr. Rokusek was recently elected national chair of the Health Division for the American Association on Mental Retardation.