September 21, 2010

University Continues Search for Top Admissions Officer

Print More

With the departure of Doris Davis, former associate provost for admissions and enrollment last semester, the University will hire its first Associate Vice Provost and Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid. According to Barbara Knuth, vice provost and dean of the graduate school, Davis’ previous position has been re-framed “to signal the importance of Cornell’s institutional commitment to providing financial aid [and ensuring it] remains accessible for all qualified students.” Until a new associate provost is named, Jason Locke, director of the undergraduate admissions office, will be directly in charge of University admissions.

Knuth, who is also in charge of the selection committee for the new associate provost, said that the “search for this position is underway.” The new associate vice provost position “will provide leadership for all aspects of undergraduate admissions, enrollment, and financial aid,” according to the search committee’s page on the University website.

The search committee, composed of administrators and deans from various colleges, “has identified a strong pool of candidates [and remains] confident that [it will] recruit a highly qualified individual to lead these important efforts,” Knuth said.

According to the last update about the search, published on the Cornell website on August 23,  “the search committee for the Associate Vice Provost, Admissions and Financial Aid has reviewed numerous applications and considered the qualifications of many nominees.”

The post also indicated that the “informational and screening interviews have yielded a qualified pool of candidates and that on campus interviews have been scheduled” — a process that will continue until the position is filled.

This past February, Davis announced that she would leave Cornell after a decade of work to start her own educational consulting business. Davis told the Sun on February 7 that she “will focus primarily on providing college counseling services to students who live outside of the United States” as well as providing consulting services to international secondary schools.

Davis came to Cornell in April of 2000, after working as dean of admissions at Barnard College.

During her tenure, Cor­nell’s acceptance rate fell significantly every year, from 32.9 percent in 1999 — the year before she arrived — to an all-time low of 18.4 percent for the Class of 2014. Davis also worked arduously to recruit increasingly diverse classes throughout her leadership of University undergraduate admissions.

Original Author: Patricio Martinez