Franklin & Marshall College is a residential college dedicated to excellence in undergraduate liberal education. Its aims are to inspire in young people of high promise and diverse backgrounds a genuine and enduring love for learning, to teach them to read, write, and think critically, to instill in them the capacity for both independent and collaborative action, and to educate them to explore and understand the natural, social, and cultural worlds in which they live. In so doing, the College seeks to foster in its students qualities of intellect, creativity, and character, that they may live fulfilling lives and contribute meaningfully to their occupations, their communities, and their world.
~Franklin & Marshall Mission
Strongly positioned within the top tier of the nation’s best liberal arts colleges (#31 on the 2023 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges list), Franklin & Marshall (F&M) has become a force for transformative change not only in the lives of individual students and the College’s student body, but also across the American higher education sector. Founded in 1787 and located in the vibrant, livable city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Franklin & Marshall seeks a highly qualified Dean of Admission to advance the successful attainment of enrollment goals for first-year and transfer students through the leadership of the admission staff and the management of recruitment, selection, and yield.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The essential duties and responsibilities for the Dean of Admission include the following:
Leadership
- Provide leadership for the Office of Admission, including domestic and international recruitment teams, as well as the visitor services and events teams.
- Directly supervise the Director of Recruitment, Director of the Admission Visit Experience & Lombardo Welcome Center Manager, and Director of International Recruitment & Admission.
- Inspire in team members an openness to possibility, engagement with goals and objectives, and exceptional standards of individual and team performance.
- Ensure every aspect of day-to-day operations serves to meet the goals and objectives of the division and the college.
- Contribute to an ethically grounded, collaboration-inclined, data-informed, relationship driven, and results-oriented work culture.
- Manage the office’s budget in a manner that is creative, resourceful, and maximizes ROI.
Student Recruitment and Selection
- Collaborate closely with the Vice President for Enrollment, and with division and office leadership, to develop, implement, and successfully execute plans for recruitment, selection, and yield that are data-informed, relationship-driven, and responsive to college goals for quality, quantity, class composition, and net tuition revenue.
- Develop strategies to create new and build on existing relationships with secondary schools and programs, school-based counselors, community-based, regional, and national organizations, two-year colleges, and campus partners to strategically expand the College’s visibility and recruitment efforts. Guide the staff in the successful implementation of these strategies.
- Serve as the chair of the Admission Committee, overseeing the selection of first-year and transfer cohorts in order to craft a highly-qualified student body that meets institutional goals.
- Capitalizing on Franklin & Marshall’s new Lombardo Welcome Center, guide the development of a program that set the standard for an exceptional campus visit experience, building affinity and driving applications and enrollment; support the Director of the Admission Visit Experience and other relevant staff in providing exceptional customer service during all on-campus, off-campus, and remote visit events.
- Manage a recruitment territory and travel to represent the college.
- Serve as a partner in thought and action to fellow members of the enrollment leadership team.
Collaboration
- Serve as a partner in thought and action to fellow members of the highly qualified enrollment leadership team, helping to unify and strengthen collaborative efforts.
- Build, manage, and maintain relevant external relationships, including but not limited to those with school-based counselors, independent educational consultants, two-year colleges, and community-based organizations.
- Partner effectively with the Athletics Department and coaches in the recruitment of student athletes.
- Work in coordination with faculty, staff, and alumni, leveraging their expertise to guide the participation of all these groups in targeted personal outreach efforts to prospective students.
- Work effectively with institutional partners including alumni engagement, academic affairs, and communications.
Communications and Marketing
- Collaborate with colleagues within and outside of the division on the development of communication and marketing strategies that attract prospective students and families to F&M.
- Ensure that recruitment and marketing efforts are aligned and mutually reinforcing and that all members of the admission staff, as well as the rest of the college community, have consistent, authentic, and resonant messaging to use when recruiting.
- Guide the admission staff in optimizing personal outreach to prospective students and parents. Build affinity through timely and authentic personal engagement to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of staff efforts and build a pipeline of students with deep interest in F&M.
- Equip the staff to present the college in an informed, dynamic, compelling, and emotionally resonant way to audiences of varying sizes and compositions.
Management and Mentorship
- Foster a work environment characterized by open communication, transparency, feedback, mutual respect, trust, support, and camaraderie.
- Mentor and supervise the admission staff, inspiring engagement with shared goals and objectives, an openness to possibility, a culture of continuous improvement, and exceptional standards of individual and team performance.
SKILLS, ABILITIES, and UNDERSTANDING
Candidates for this position should have at least ten years in enrollment and/or related fields with progressively increased responsibilities and a record of success in the field of admission. An appreciation and demonstrated understanding of the liberal arts mission of the institution, as well as a commitment to advancing inclusion, community, and belonging, is strongly desired. A bachelor’s degree is required, while an advanced degree is strongly preferred.
The chosen candidate should demonstrate the following skills, abilities and understanding:
- Ability to align the day-to-day work of an admissions office with strategic direction and priorities, and a demonstrated understanding that success is achieved through outstanding execution at all levels.
- Proven success in managing and motivating staff in a culture characterized by high levels of motivation, performance, and collaboration.
- Ability to work on simultaneous projects and to manage the work of a team juggling multiple projects at a fast pace.
- Deep knowledge of best practices in both recruitment and selection, as well as a willingness to innovate and think beyond them
- Experience with and an understanding of the unique needs of transfer students, international students, and student-athletes.
- Ability to contribute to a work environment that is welcoming to people from a variety of backgrounds and experiences.
- A nuanced appreciation for the many advantages and barriers that characterize students’ paths to college.
- Appetite for continuous innovation and improvement and the inclination to approach work from a posture of possibility.
- Superior written and spoken communication skills and the ability to make a compelling case to students and their families for the power of a Franklin & Marshall education.
- Ability and willingness to achieve results through sustainable means that serve Franklin & Marshall well in both the short- and long-term.
- Appreciation for small, private, tuition-driven institutions competing in regional, national, and international markets and how important both recruitment and selection are to the success of these institutions.
- Ability to manage change through collaboration and influence and to unify and educate the admission staff to ensure the office’s outreach efforts are responsive to a changing higher education landscape.
- Ability to align high-impact recruitment efforts with institutional selectivity goals, ensuring the admission process attracts a diverse, highly qualified student body while maintaining the academic integrity and standards of Franklin & Marshall.
FRANKLIN & MARSHALL COLLEGE
Over the past decade, Franklin & Marshall has bolstered its excellent national and international reputation by strengthening its value proposition for today’s students. The College has enhanced its impressive academic program with a vibrant approach to general education and with interdisciplinary major and minor programs such as Public Health, Data Science, and an array of new certificates. F&M has developed innovative approaches to promoting student success in and beyond college, including the distinctive College House system and a Center for Career and Professional Development which works intensively with students from their first weeks on campus through the years immediately after they graduate and beyond. F&M has also invested in state-of-the-art technology classrooms and new facilities including a Student Wellness Center, the multi-purpose Shadek Stadium, the interdisciplinary Winter Visual Arts Center designed by renowned architect Steven Holl, and the new Lombardo Welcome Center.
F&M has also achieved significant national visibility by embracing the American imperative to create college opportunity for talented students from all backgrounds. The College’s acclaimed “talent strategy" aims to draw exceptional, high-achieving students from the full American mosaic, while simultaneously enhancing the educational experience for all F&M students. F&M was also instrumental in the creation of the American Talent Initiative (ATI), funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, which aims to increase the enrollment of lower- and moderate-income students at the country's 270 colleges and universities that consistently graduate at least 70 percent of their students. Starting with just 30 founding institutions, the ATI has grown to more than 120 members, including all eight Ivy League institutions and many public flagships and selective national liberal arts colleges.
Leveraging Excellence, Accelerating Discovery
Leveraging Excellence, Accelerating Discovery (L&AD) is F&M’s five-year strategic plan (2022-2027). It is so named to capture not only the community’s ambitions for the College, but also, with its ampersand, F&M’s mission, identity, inclusivity, and core values. The plan was created with the input of hundreds of faculty, staff, students, trustees, and alumni, and is designed to advance the College and secure its position, in perpetuity, among the finest liberal arts institutions in the country.
Together, by leveraging excellence and accelerating discovery, F&M will achieve five key goals:
- Revitalize the curriculum to respond to and guide students’ evolving needs, goals, and interests.
- Empower students to engage in an inclusive and joyful community.
- Advance their aspirations through the highest and best use of all our resources.
- Center diversity, equity and inclusion as institutional values.
- Ignite a strong culture of philanthropy, service and rewarding engagement.
Academics at F&M
The Franklin & Marshall curriculum provides a framework for students’ intellectual development over their four years at F&M and helps them become creative, innovative, responsible, and ambitious participants in learning to best prepare for life and work beyond their years in college.
F&M offers 60 fields of study spanning the breadth of traditional liberal arts disciplines and including many distinctive interdisciplinary programs, including biochemistry and molecular biology, scientific and philosophical studies of mind, Africana studies, international studies, and business, organizations and society, public health, and data science. More than 20 percent of F&M students build a unique educational experience tailored to their interests by declaring more than one major or designing a Special Studies or joint major.
Called "Connections," the general education curriculum encourages students to strive beyond traditional boundaries and limits and to make connections: connections across what might be considered typical structures of study; connections between theory and practice; connections between other students and faculty; and connections between their liberal arts education and the world. Examples of the synergies inspired by the Connections curriculum include a group of students studying government, anthropology, economics and public health coming together to explore how to prevent a disease from crossing national borders, and another group of students studying sociology, computer science and world history working side by side to investigate the origins of issues of terrorism and national security to try to inform solutions.
Connections courses seek to build in our students the ability to discover, to understand the limits of knowledge and the value of evidence, to debate respectfully with others, to refine in themselves a sense of judgment, and to analyze critically, speak persuasively and listen attentively. Establishing this foundation in early seminars prepares students to do in-depth exploration in whatever major they choose.
Community and Belonging
The Office of Community and Belonging is committed to fostering an environment where every person feels valued, respected, and integral to the fabric of our community. The office leads myriad initiatives, such as strategic planning and the campus climate task force, partners with dozens of offices and clubs, and promotes a campus culture that celebrates – and depends upon – the varied backgrounds, beliefs, and perspectives of its members to create an inclusive environment in which everyone can flourish.
A Global Campus
To prepare for global citizenship, students acquire intercultural knowledge and, in some cases, intensive language immersion through more than 200 approved off-campus study programs. Students participate in summer, semester or year-long programs, benefiting from off-campus study advisors who provide one-on-one mentoring to guide students towards meaningful integration of the abroad experience into the overall education experience at F&M.
The College owns the Advanced Studies in England (ASE) program based in Bath, England, and faculty regularly teach in Bath with ASE. F&M also boasts a vibrant Summer Travel Course program,providing students and faculty with an intensive, high-impact teaching and learning experience. Previous Summer Travel Courses have taken place in Russia, Italy, South Africa, China, Denmark and Cuba. Financial aid is available for these opportunities.
The goal of internationalization is aided by the recruitment of a global student body. International students now make up roughly 20 percent of the total student population. The College offers support to international students as well as faculty interested in exploring new pedagogical strategies to best serve an internationalized student body.
Student Life at Franklin & Marshall
With a distinctive approach to college housing, active student clubs and organizations, dozens of clubs and intramural sports teams, its own art museum, and abundant opportunities for the hands-on application of classroom learning. Franklin & Marshall provides students with a vibrant campus life experience to complement their academic pursuits. Student groups, the arts, civic engagement, and athletics and recreation all enhance the culture of teaching and learning at F&M by allowing students to form new friendships, create meaningful and memorable community experiences, discover important life lessons outside of the classroom, and make the most of their years on campus.
College House System
Residential life at Franklin & Marshall is not separated from the academic life of the College. Unique to F&M is the faculty-led College House system. All first-year students are assigned to a residential house, each led by a senior member of the faculty, the Dons, and by their colleagues, the House Deans, who are experienced student life professionals. This allows for deeper programming, conversations and events that extend easily from the classroom to the residence hall and stretch the boundaries between and among academic disciplines and intellectual interests.
Common Hour
The Common Hour – held Thursdays at 11:30 am – is a time that allows the entire community to come together for special events, campus-wide conversations, and meaningful exchange of ideas. No classes are scheduled at this time and all members of the community are involved. Proposals for topics are welcome from faculty, staff and students alike, and are selected by a committee that also includes representatives of all three groups.
Student Clubs & Organizations
The College recognizes 90 student clubs and organizations, including departmental and professional organizations; ethnic and lifestyle clubs; literary clubs; educational organizations; honorary societies; performing arts clubs; music and vocal groups; political advocacy groups; publications and media clubs; religious organizations; service groups; and other special-interest groups.
Fraternity & Sorority Life
The College hosts three fraternities and seven sororities that are all affiliated with national organizations. The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, within the Office of the Dean of the College, oversees these chapters. The chapters host social events, volunteer in the Lancaster community, participate in leadership development programs on and off campus, and actively engage in philanthropic activities. In fall 2017, F&M welcomed its first historically Black sorority, creating a joint chapter of Delta Sigma Theta with nearby Millersville University.
Athletics
Franklin & Marshall competes athletically in Division III of the NCAA, sponsoring 27 varsity teams as well as five intramural sports and numerous club sports. F&M plays in the Centennial Conference, which is distinguished by “excellence on and off the field.” The Centennial Conference includes 11 elite mid-Atlantic colleges and universities who share the same academic values and commitment to the spirit of competition, excellence and camaraderie.
Admission and Financial Aid
Franklin & Marshall has a long history of academic excellence and welcoming talented students from all backgrounds. That is reflected in the College’s consistent placement among the country’s top 50 liberal arts colleges and in its commitment to meeting the institutionally determined financial need of all admitted students.
F&M balances the use of merit aid and need-based aid to build an inclusive class of students who will thrive at F&M and go on to lead lives of success and meaning in the years following graduation.
For more information on F&M, go to https://www.fandm.edu/
LOCATION
Lancaster is one of America's oldest inland cities. In 1730, it was designated a market town, or a town in a rural area with a regular market. Today, it is a thriving hub of nearly 60,000 residents in a county of more than half a million. The city’s rich history is prevalent everywhere you look; Lancaster is home to a distinctive collection of historic buildings, with many diverse architectural styles dating back to the 1700s, 1800s, and 1900s.
Lancaster is an ideal college town of 60,000 (and more than 500,000 in the surrounding region), located within steps of the campus. Both city-sophisticated and small-town comfortable, Lancaster has a booming arts scene, an array of restaurant options, and is filled with historic buildings and the country’s oldest continuously operating indoor farmer’s market. Downtown Lancaster is a rich hub of culture and arts filled with art galleries, historical buildings and bustling night spots, all within walking distance of campus. Journalist Thomas Friedman lauded Lancaster for its civic innovation, and the New York Times also featured its extraordinary offerings in global dining, as well as its success as a refugee resettlement area. In recent years, it has been named a best small city in the US, a best center for micro-brewing, and a best city for retirees.
On the first Friday of every month, downtown Lancaster is abuzz with gallery openings where one can enjoy the evening's artistic energy. Just off campus is Clipper Magazine Stadium, home to the Lancaster Barnstormers, the city’s own baseball team. If visitors are looking for great theatre, the Fulton Opera house, built in 1852, is the nation’s oldest continuously operating theatre and only one of eight to be named a historic landmark.
From its roots in Pennsylvania Dutch heritage to current vibrant culture, Lancaster might be the East Coast’s most surprising global village. The city resettles more refugees per capita than any place else in the country; students in the School District of Lancaster speak more than 30 languages, reflective of the many nationalities represented within city borders alone. No matter where you turn, Lancaster offers extraordinary opportunities and is an incredible place to call home. The city consistently rates high on lists of great places to live. Lancaster is easily accessible from Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore, and Washington, DC.
SALARY and BENEFITS
Franklin & Marshall offers a competitive salary based on the skills and experience of the selected candidate, and a comprehensive package of benefits. NES search consultants will discuss the expected range of compensation. The selected candidate will reside in or near Lancaster, PA in this campus-based leadership position. All benefits can be viewed at F&M human resources.
TO APPLY
NES, a higher education search firm which specializes in enrollment management, is assisting Franklin & Marshall College with the search for the Dean of Admission. To arrange for a confidential conversation, please contact Laura Robinson (laura.robinson@nessearches.com) or Elizabeth Daly (elizabeth.daly@nessearches.com). For best consideration, candidates who plan to apply should send a resume, a detailed letter of interest, and contact information for five professional references by email to fandm@nessearches.com no later than April 2, 2025. Review will begin immediately thereafter, and the expected start date will be summer 2025. All applications and nominations will be considered confidential, and notice will be given before references are contacted.
Franklin & Marshall College is committed to maintaining an inclusive campus community where all members are treated with dignity and respect. The College is committed to the equity and diversity of our students, employees and applicants for admissions and employment. This also includes those seeking access to College programs. All are evaluated based on individual merit and accomplishments. Therefore, Franklin & Marshall College is committed to the principle of equal opportunity – both as an educational institution and an employer - for all qualified persons without discrimination against any person by reason of any College-recognized protected classification, including sex, race, color, age, religion, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, pregnancy, marital status, medical condition, veteran status, or disability.