Dean of Students and Associate Vice President of Student and Academic Support Services Linda Donnels announced this week that she plans to retire after 31 years at GW.

As AVP of SASS and Dean of Students, Donnels oversees GW Housing Programs, the University Counseling Center, the Student Health Service and the Career Center. She is one of several long-serving and high-ranking officials who will retire at the end of this year including Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs Don Lehman and University Police Chief Dolores Stafford.

Donnels said she has seen a lot change since she began working at GW in 1979, adding that while she is excited to retire and move to Santa Fe, N.M., she will miss her colleagues and the students at GW.

“It was with a lot of thought and soul searching, because I’ve really had a wonderful career at GW,” Donnels said about her decision to retire. “It’s very hard to leave here. Obviously for somebody to stay as long as I have, there is a reason why I stay. I really enjoy working here very much. But there are other things for me to do in life, and my husband and I some time ago made the decision that at retirement we would move west into the community of Santa Fe where we have many friends.”

Since beginning her career at GW, Donnels said she has seen a lot change at the University.

“Well when I started, GW was very much a regional University,” Donnels said. “Over time, it has become a national and international University, and that was done strategically and successfully, which is a huge change.”

Donnels said she is finishing out the semester, but does not yet know when her final day at GW will be or how the transition will work, however she said she hopes to stay connected to the University after she leaves.

“I hope it’s not goodbye to GW because I hope to stay connected to all my friends here,” Donnels said.

She added, “I hope friends and students will stay connected to me even though I’m not in D.C.”