Lee Skinner, professor and dean of Newcomb-Tulane College, will step down from her role Dec. 31, Tulane University announced in an email Thursday. 

Skinner has accepted a role as dean of the College of the Pacific at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. 

Skinner joined Tulane in 2019 as leader of Newcomb-Tulane College and professor in Tulane’s department of Spanish and Portuguese. She led the creation of the First-Year Experience office, the Office of Undergraduate Research and the Office of Fellowship Advising. 

“The Tulane community is sorry to see Lee go, but we are happy for her as she returns to her beloved California to begin this new chapter in her career,” President Mike Fitts and Provost Robin Forman said in the email. A national search to fill Skinner’s position will begin soon.