Jonli Tunstall will serve as the new associate vice provost of student diversity and director of UCLA’s Academic Advancement Program.
AAP provides first-generation, low-income and historically underrepresented students with tutoring, counseling, mentorship and research opportunities, according to its website. Tunstall spent 18 years in charge of AAP’s summer programs for freshmen and transfer students, as well as its college access program for high school students in Los Angeles and Pasadena.
Tunstall – who received both her bachelor’s and doctoral degrees from UCLA – said in an emailed statement that her time as an AAP student during her undergraduate years has shaped the way she plans to lead the program.
“I sat where our students sit,” Tunstall said in the emailed statement. “I walked into AAP not knowing exactly what I needed, and the program met me where I was. That experience never leaves you – and it shapes everything about how I approach this role.”
Tunstall’s two main priorities as the director of AAP are ensuring the program can continue to offer its services for students, as well as supporting and investing in AAP staff, she added.
AAP faced budget cuts and staff layoffs in July, impacting the Vice Provost’s Initiative Pre-College Scholars program and the AAP Computer Lounge, among other initiatives. Charles Alexander, the program’s former director, told the Daily Bruin that UCLA cut the program’s budget because of federal funding reductions and AAP’s existing budget deficit.
[Related: Academic Advancement Program to pause some programs, reduce staff amid budget cuts]
Tunstall is prioritizing fundraising for AAP and diversifying the program’s funding streams, she said in the written statement.
BruinSuccess – a $55 fee referendum that could appear on the spring Undergraduate Students Association Council’s ballot – would allocate $7.25 per undergraduate student quarterly to AAP if passed.
Rey Tapia, a third-year gender studies student, said they first got involved in AAP through the transfer summer program. During that program, Tapia took classes focusing on university-level writing and research methods, as well as a Chicano studies elective, they added.
Tapia said they hope AAP’s programming continues despite funding uncertainties because it helped them meet other students and adjust to life at UCLA.
Tunstall added in the emailed statement that the federal government’s continued scrutiny of diversity-related programs has created stress and uncertainty for students.
President Donald Trump has called on universities to end their diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives since the start of his second term, threatening to withhold funding from those that do not comply. Several universities – including the University of Southern California, the University of Michigan and the University of Virginia – have renamed or cut their diversity programs altogether since Trump reclaimed office.
“In this moment, it is especially important to affirm that AAP is here for them – that their voices matter and that they belong at UCLA,” Tunstall said in the statement. “That message does not shift with the political climate.”
Justin Bautista, a third-year philosophy student, also participated in the transfer summer program. The teaching assistants in the program were a valuable resource, Bautista said, adding that he had individual meetings with his AAP TA each week.
“All these classes were helpful,” Bautista said. “They allowed me to start up a new routine, in order to work in these kinds of classes, in these kinds of environments.”
Olivia Williams, a third-year political science student, said AAP allowed her to better adjust to UCLA and set academic expectations for herself.
Williams added that she hopes Tunstall will expand AAP’s opportunities beyond the program’s core facets of counseling and summer bridge programs, which help students adapt to university life.
“A lot of the AAP events are really cool, and they really emphasize a sense of belonging,” Williams said. “So I just want her to help facilitate that.”
Tunstall said in the emailed statement that she is honored to lead AAP, adding that the program’s students and staff have exhibited persistence, ambition and dedication.
“This is an important and challenging moment for higher education,” Tunstall said in the statement. “But I remain hopeful because I have seen what AAP makes possible, and I know what this community can accomplish together. We are not just sustaining a program. We are continuing to build something that changes lives.”
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