Former Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Sneh Veena passed away surrounded by her family on April 6, 2025, in Walnut Creek, California. She was 86.

Veena was a lifelong educator with two doctoral degrees who spent 56 years in higher education, including 13 years at Heritage. She was a strong advocate for ensuring academic accessibility to all, regardless of ethnicity, income, or family background. She joined Heritage in 1998 after serving for 20 years at Voorhees College, a historically black liberal arts college in Denmark, South Carolina.

During her tenure at Heritage, Veena was credited for developing several new academic programs, including the criminal justice and practical nursing programs, setting the foundation for the Bachelor of Nursing program. She also expanded several existing programs, including business and social work.

In addition to her work on programming, Veena took strides in diversifying the university’s faculty. At the time of her retirement in 2011, nearly a third of the full- time faculty were Native American, Hispanic, African American or Asian American.

At the time of her retirement, Veena was awarded Professor Emeritus. She addressed the campus community, saying, “Working for Heritage opened up my heart more than I ever imagined. I feel like every moment I have worked here has been God’s mission.”

Veena’s family requested, in lieu of flowers, a donation be made in her memory to the Berbarta-Veena Family Endowed Scholarship Fund at Heritage University.