Meet the Senior Leadership Team
Supporting our Saint Louis University students is a team effort encompassing a wide range of skills, services and interpersonal relationships. Our division leadership represents the best of us, and their guidance steers the work we do every day in service to the SLU campus community.
Matthew Goodwin, Ph.D.
Interim vice president of student development
Matt Goodwin, Ph.D., serves as vice president for student development at Saint Louis University, where he arrived in 2023.
Goodwin’s career in higher education spans over 20 years, including nearly 12 years as a senior student affairs officer. He has spent most of his career at Catholic colleges and universities.
Before coming to Saint Louis University, Matt served as the vice president for student affairs at St. Catherine University (St. Kate’s) in St. Paul, Minnesota, the largest Catholic women’s college in the country. Founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Kate’s is one of only six institutions in the country that share identities as an all-women’s college and a minority-serving institution.
Before St. Kate’s, Goodwin was the senior student affairs officer (VP and dean of students) for six years at Saint Joseph’s College, in Standish, Maine, roughly 15 miles west of Portland. He has also served as dean of students at Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, as well as prior appointments at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Goodwin’s areas of professional interest are within student affairs practice at Catholic colleges and universities. He is a board member of the Association for Student Affairs at Catholic Colleges & Universities and is involved nationally with the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), Jesuit Association of Student Personnel Administrators (JASPA), and the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU). He also remains very involved with his fraternity, Delta Tau Delta, as a national volunteer. In 2025, Saint Louis University selected Goodwin to participate in the inaugural cohort of the Ignatian Executive Leadership Academy, sponsored by the AJCU, and in 2026 was an honorary inductee to Alpha Sigma Nu, the national Jesuit honor society.
Goodwin earned his doctorate in educational leadership from Cardinal Stritch University. Both his undergraduate and graduate degrees are from Illinois State University, where he was inducted to ISU’s College of Education Hall of Fame in 2020.
As important as these accomplishments are, Goodwin firmly believes in the power of servant leadership and the importance of having great colleagues and teammates. He loves working with students, forming relationships with his faculty and staff, and doing whatever it takes to honor the commitment made every day by college students at SLU, toward the greater good.
Senior Leadership Team
Eric Anderson
Assistant vice president for student well-being
Eric Anderson coordinates and expands SLU student wellness services across the Division of Student Development and the University. His portfolio includes the Student Health Center, University Counseling Center and Campus Recreation and Wellness.
Sharilyn Bazile
Executive assistant to the vice president of student development
Melinda Heikkinen
Associate vice president, Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
As associate vice president for public safety, Melinda Heikkinen is responsible for operational leadership and personnel management. She oversees the physical security of the campus, emergency preparedness, Clery compliance, investigations, campus-wide security technology, program assessments and departmental audits.
Donney Moroney
Assistant vice president and dean of students
Donney Moroney oversees the Dean of Students Office, the RISE Program, Billiken Parents and Family Engagement, the Center for Accessibility and Disability Resources and the Office of Student Responsibility and Community Standards and Case Management.
Moroney has more than 20 years of experience in higher education and a commitment to advocating on behalf of student success.
Ben Perlman, Ph.D.
Assistant vice president for student engagement
As assistant vice president of student engagement, Ben Perlman is responsible for strategic planning, operations management, and effective daily supervision of all organizational components of the Busch Student Center, Housing and Residential Life, the Student Involvement Center and related services on behalf of the Division of Student Development.