Position Detail

Dean of Enrollment and Retention

Hampshire College invites applications and nominations for the position of Dean of Enrollment and Retention.  Among the most innovative liberal arts colleges in the country, Hampshire College was born of the vision of educators who dreamed of a new paradigm for liberal arts education. The founding documents advocated many of the features that have since been realized in the Hampshire curriculum: an emphasis on each student’s interest and motivation; broad, multidisciplinary learning; and close mentoring relationships between faculty and students.  Hampshire opened its doors to its first class of students in 1970. The College now sits on 800 acres of former apple orchards, field, farmland, and woods and includes an organic farm that is used for community supported agriculture and as a living lab.  An independent, not-for-profit institution, Hampshire is fully accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.  The College enrolls up to 1400 students and employs a total complement of 129 FTE faculty positions and 289 staff.  Together with Amherst, Mount Holyoke, Smith and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Hampshire is part of the Five College consortium, which provides students access to thousands of courses, shared resources and services at the participating institutions.

Reporting to both the President and the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty, the Dean of Enrollment and Retention (Dean) provides vision, leadership, and strong strategic direction to Hampshire’s student recruitment, admissions, financial aid, and retention efforts with the goal of ensuring that Hampshire matriculates students who are best suited to the College’s unique inquiry-driven, learner-centered educational model.  The Dean collaborates with the Chief Creative Officer and other senior leadership to position and market the College and articulate Hampshire’s value proposition to future students and parents.  The Dean advises the President and Board of Trustees in developing and evaluating admissions, recruitment and financial aid policies to promote student success.  The Dean sits on the President’s Leadership team and oversees and provides leadership to the Offices of Admissions and Financial Aid, each led by a Director, with a staff of 17 in Admissions and 7 in Financial Aid.   

Hampshire College seeks a strong and collaborative leader with a vision that is aligned with Hampshire’s strategic goals, and the creative skills to identify, recruit, enroll, and help to retain students who will thrive under Hampshire’s educational model.  The Dean will be passionate about the culture of Hampshire and its core values and embrace the sensibility embodied in its motto, Non Satis Scire (To Know is Not Enough).  The Dean must be an excellent communicator with superb listening skills, open to incorporating feedback and critique, and appreciative of the nuances of language and meaning.   The Dean will be an innovator and outside-the-box thinker, willing to take risks and try new strategies, and responsive to the creative ideas of others, hands-on, approachable, a visible and accessible presence within the campus community, yet able to delegate and forge a strong and collaborative team.  The successful candidate will possess a Bachelor’s degree, preferably from a liberal arts college, together with a strong intellectual orientation and sense of curiosity that may be reflected in an advanced degree (preferred); a proven track record of success in leadership positions in admissions and financial aid; a passion for liberal arts education and the unique niche that Hampshire occupies; excellent strategic thinking skills and the capacity to manage the complex interplay of marketing and recruitment strategies, enrollment goals, yield and financial aid; a sophisticated understanding of the strategic use of digital communications, social media and new technologies to advance marketing strategies in enrollment; a holistic view of the connections among the areas of enrollment, academic affairs, and student life; ability to select, develop, motivate, and mentor staff; a commitment to diversity; and appreciation for the out-of-the-box thinking, spirited inquiry and debate, and irreverence that are part of the Hampshire experience. 

Nominations, inquiries, and applications (including a cover letter, curriculum vitae, and the names of five references) should be directed electronically in confidence to HampshireDER@divsearch.com.

Kim M. Morrisson, Ph.D. Senior Managing Director
Manuel A. Gongon, Jr., Principal
Diversified Search
2005 Market Street, Suite 3300, Philadelphia, PA 19103
215.656.3588

Hampshire College is an Equal Opportunity institution, committed to diversity in education and employment.

For additional information, please consult the College’s website at http://www.hampshire.edu.

Hampshire College is an equal opportunity institution, committed to diversity and inclusion in education and employment.