Shanee McCoy will serve as the next director of UW–Madison’s Precollege Enrichment Opportunity Program for Learning Excellence (PEOPLE), the university has announced.
The UW PEOPLE program is a long-term diversity pipeline to higher education that serves more than 1,200 students annually on campus and in the Madison Metropolitan and Milwaukee Public school districts.
“Being selected to serve as director means so much to me,” McCoy told UW-Madison. McCoy earned her bachelor’s degree in African American studies at UW–Madison and her master’s degree in higher education leadership and administration from Capella University. “As an alum, I am deeply connected to the mission and purpose of PEOPLE and am excited to utilize my skillset and experience to contribute to the legacy of this prestigious program.”
McCoy has served as an educational access and opportunity leader, working directly with youth and local communities. While several of these roles include leadership within the PEOPLE organization, McCoy’s first professional position in the program was as site coordinator for PEOPLE Prep in 2005, and she brings 17 years of professional experience in college access and success to the director role.
As the PEOPLE program director, she will oversee all aspects of implementation for college readiness and success initiatives offered by the program and work with the program’s associate directors overseeing PEOPLE offices and services in Madison and Milwaukee, according to a press release from UW.
McCoy, who succeeds Gail Ford as director, will begin her position on Feb. 6.
