Dean of Admission

Dean of Admission

Princeton University

Princeton, NJ

 

Princeton University seeks an experienced, passionate, and dynamic leader to serve as its next Dean of Admission. Reporting to the Dean of the College, the Dean of Admission will advance Princeton’s strategy for recruiting, admitting, and enrolling exceptional undergraduate students in support of Princeton’s transformational vision to be a leader in providing access to outstanding higher education to a diverse student body.  The dean will be a leader of and for admission, with the vision to anticipate and respond to the challenges and opportunities in selective higher education admissions and to serve as an articulate spokesperson on campus and in the public arena.  As a member of the president's cabinet, the dean will be adept at analyzing and communicating complex data effectively and will serve as a part of a leadership team committed to achieving the University’s mission by gathering feedback, sharing ideas, and inviting consultation.

 

ABOUT PRINCETON

Princeton University is a world-renowned research university with a vibrant community of scholarship, research, and teaching that seeks to serve the nation and humanity and has achieved the highest levels of distinction in the discovery and transmission of knowledge and understanding. Princeton has a profound commitment to undergraduate education with a low student-to-faculty ratio and a curriculum that emphasizes learning, creativity, innovation, and collaboration with a program of liberal arts in the humanities, arts, social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering. Princeton similarly has a strong commitment to graduate education where students become part of a community of scholars in one of the world’s leading research universities. With a focus on doctoral education, and a select number of master’s degree programs, graduate work across the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering emphasizes original and independent scholarship.  Students work closely with distinguished faculty who routinely push the frontiers of human knowledge with their research and scholarship.

 

For more information on Princeton University, please visit www.princeton.edu.

 

THE OPPORTUNITY

Reporting to the Dean of the College, the Dean of Admission develops long-term admission and recruitment goals and strategies in support of the University’s mission.  In close partnership with the Dean of the College, the Director of Financial Aid, and the President, the Dean of Admission executes creative, effective, and transparent strategies that attract exceptional students from a broad diversity of backgrounds and viewpoints.  With a focus on continuous improvement, the dean uses analytics and evidence-based methodologies to inform strategy and process and communicates and collaboratively partners throughout campus to reflect on and refine admission approaches and practices. 

 

The incoming dean will take the helm of an enterprise that has achieved considerable success in developing admissions policies and procedures that offer high levels of consideration and provide holistic evaluations of all candidates, even as the number of applications has multiplied considerably.  With the support of a hard-working team and the technological advances promised by adopting the Slate platform, the next dean will have the opportunity to innovate processes, refine roles and procedures, and implement inventive uses for technology.

 

Princeton has historically been on the vanguard of innovation in higher education. The successful candidate will be willing and able to instigate change thoughtfully, creatively, ethically, and energetically. The next dean should be courageous and pioneering amongst peer institutions and in the national arena.

 

Within admissions, the dean will foster an environment of strategic thinking, collaboration, and transparency.  The dean will be a credible and influential leader, mentor, and developer of staff, with a demonstrated commitment to supporting the staff’s work-life balance, empowerment, and professional growth. The dean will operate with the highest levels of integrity, honesty, and openness, and create strong and enduring collaborative relationships with leaders across the institution as well as with faculty, staff, and alumni, as well as external constituencies.

 

A commitment to affordability and access is a central tenet and a guiding priority of Princeton’s admission strategy.  Princeton’s financial aid program is recognized as one of the most generous in the country, committed to meeting full student need.  Through participation in organizations such as the Commission on Financing Higher Education (COFHE), the American Talent Initiative (ATI), Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America (LEDA), and QuestBridge, Princeton partners with peer institutions and community-based organizations to attract and recruit students from low- and moderate-income families.  Princeton has been a leader in this effort.  The next Dean of Admission will take a prominent campus and national role in leading the charge to find effective and pioneering ways to sustain and increase socioeconomic diversity in Princeton’s undergraduate population and at colleges and universities nationwide.

 

CANDIDATE PROFILE

The next Dean of Admission will be an articulate, passionate spokesperson for Princeton University and for the transformative power of higher education for students around the world. The successful candidate will be an innovative and collaborative leader, with a facility to use and interpret data to inform policy and process. Candidates should have 10 to 15 years of experience in college or university administration, including a record of achievement working in undergraduate admission, with a minimum of five years of experience in a senior leadership role. Experience at a highly selective university is strongly preferred. A bachelor’s degree is required; an advanced degree is preferred.

 

Additionally, candidates will possess many, if not all, of the following professional qualifications and personal characteristics:

  • Expert knowledge of a broad range of strategic, technological, and operational methodologies, tools, and practices governing undergraduate admissions in a highly selective, highly visible institution;
  • Experience developing, refining, and articulating comprehensible data and analytics around admissions and enrollment to multiple audiences;
  • Advanced analytical and creative skills for using both quantitative and qualitative data across a broad array of metrics to develop strategic recruitment and admissions approaches to identify students who will succeed academically and socially on campus;
  • Demonstrated facility with technology to support enrollment initiatives, including, but not limited to, student information systems, social media, customer relationship management, and predictive modeling;
  • A deep commitment to college access and to increasing socioeconomic and other kinds of diversity while building a class;
  • Thorough understanding of the legal landscape relating to college and university admissions policies and procedures and the collection and retention of student data;
  • Proven ability to communicate clearly and effectively—in writing and in person—the goals and ethos of a selective institution of higher education to internal and external audiences;
  • A record of attracting, mentoring, and retaining high-quality talent and building vibrant, empowered teams of professionals from ambitious, individual contributors;
  • A track record of collaboration, consultation, and fostering a spirit of teamwork among and between members of various departments;
  • Demonstrated curiosity and a spirit of intellectual inquiry about the array of undergraduate options and experiences available at Princeton and their purchase on students’ future careers;
  • Concern for the success and progress of admitted students through their undergraduate degree programs at Princeton and an ability to read their achievements and challenges back into the files of prospective students;
  • Commitment to diversity and inclusion and an ability to connect with others and cultivate relationships based on mutual trust and respect; and
  • A high level of transparency, integrity, and discretion.

 

CONTACT

Princeton University has engaged Koya Leadership Partners to help in this hire. Please submit nominations, expressions of interest, and applications, including a compelling letter of interest and resumé, here.

 

Princeton University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. EEO IS THE LAW.

 

ABOUT KOYA LEADERSHIP PARTNERS

Koya Leadership Partners is a national retained executive search and human capital consulting firm that works exclusively with mission-driven organizations, institutions of higher education and social enterprises. We deliver measurable results, finding exceptionally talented people who truly fit the unique culture of our client organizations and ensuring that organizations have the resources and strategies to support them. For more information, visit www.koyapartners.com.