Vice President of Enrollment Management at Kalamazoo College

THE OPPORTUNITY

Kalamazoo College (K), a pioneer in integrated approach to undergraduate education, announces the search for Vice President for Enrollment Management (VPEM). At an energizing moment for K and a consequential moment for higher education, the College seeks a strategist, innovator, and competitive leader who sees enrollment not simply as a function, but as a strategy for the future. The Vice President for Enrollment Management will be a builder, a collaborator, and an exceptional team leader who is curious about what is possible and effective in turning ideas into results.

With new presidential leadership, a renewed focus on enrollment and institutional differentiation, evolving academic opportunities, and deeper partnerships across Kalamazoo and Michigan, the Vice President for Enrollment Management will join K as it moves forward with ambition, preparing for the next generation of students. Reporting directly to President Karlyn Crowley and serving as a member of the President’s Cabinet, the Vice President will be at the center of a comprehensive enrollment strategy designed to grow demand, strengthen enrollment, increase net tuition revenue, expand access, and build a student body that will thrive at K. The VPEM will enjoy the unusual opportunity to truly shape what comes next. 

WHY K. WHY NOW.

Kalamazoo College has never been defined by doing college exactly as others do it.

The College pioneered an integrated approach to undergraduate education through the K-Plan, bringing together top-tier academics, experiential learning, international education, civic engagement, career development and independent scholarship.

Now K is asking the next question: What should a distinctive Kalamazoo College education look like for the next generation of students? That question reaches well beyond enrollment. It encompasses academic programs, the student experience, athletics, partnerships, affordability, career preparation, the city of Kalamazoo, and how the College communicates its value to the world. The Vice President for Enrollment Management will help answer it.

Working closely with the President, Provost, Cabinet, faculty and staff, the Vice President will bring the voice of prospective students and families directly into institutional strategy. The Vice President will help K understand where the market is moving, where new opportunities exist, what students value, and where the College can distinguish itself. The expectation is clear: build demand, grow enrollment, and help position Kalamazoo College for long-term strength.

The Vice President will join Kalamazoo College during a period of institutional renewal, examining how its academic programs, experiential education, partnerships, student experience, and market position should evolve for the future. The Vice President will bring an essential perspective to this work anticipating the needs of K’s future students.

THE ROLE: A DIFFERENT KIND OF ENROLLMENT LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITY

The Vice President for Enrollment Management will build a new model of enrollment management that reflects the extraordinary value of a deeply personal undergraduate education at K, and articulate this value to a new generation of students. The Vice President will demonstrate a deep understanding of the fundamentals of excellent enrollment management, knowing how and when to build upon best practices, but not be constrained by them. 

The Vice President for Enrollment Management will provide strategic leadership for undergraduate admissions and financial aid and will serve as one of the College’s principal institutional strategists with responsibility for recruitment strategy, enrollment marketing (in partnership with College Marketing and Communication), financial aid strategy, enrollment operations, technology and CRM optimization, market analysis, forecasting, and enrollment performance. 

The Vice President will develop and execute a comprehensive enrollment strategy grounded in data, market intelligence, experimentation, and K’s highly personalized approach to students and families. The Vice President will demonstrate a deep understanding of the marketplace, the impact of technology, and changes in student and family expectations and behavior. The VPEM will be able to see around corners, anticipate changes, and lead strategic and nimble responses. 

The Vice President will establish clear goals, build the systems and team needed to achieve them, measure results relentlessly, and adjust quickly when evidence demands it. Success will require both strategy and execution. 

THE WORK AHEAD

The Vice President for Enrollment Management will develop, build, and execute a multi-year enrollment growth strategy that strengthens the College's market position and produces measurable enrollment and net tuition revenue results. With a goal of cultivating the genuine interest of more students who see Kalamazoo as a place they want to be, the Vice President will:

• Establish ambitious but achievable enrollment, application, yield, class profile, and net tuition revenue goals.
• Expand the prospective student pipeline and substantially strengthen application generation.
• Identify new geographic markets, populations, partnerships, and recruitment channels.
• Build stronger transfer pathways and partnerships with community colleges and other institutions.
• Expand K's reach throughout Michigan while identifying markets beyond Michigan with significant growth potential.
• Evaluate emerging recruitment models and partnerships—including direct admission and other approaches that reduce barriers between talented students and K.
• Leverage research and competitive intelligence to understand why students choose K, why they choose competitors, and where K can win.
• Test ideas, measure results, scale what works, and stop doing what does not.

Make Data a Competitive Advantage

The Vice President will create a disciplined culture of enrollment analytics and accountability, including:

• Demonstrate the ability to move between strategy and numbers, translating both clearly for others.
• Create a culture where enrollment decisions are informed by evidence versus history or habit.
• Develop sophisticated funnel, market, competitor, pricing and yield analysis.
• Establish reliable enrollment forecasting and scenario planning.
• Develop clear dashboards and performance indicators that allow leadership to see what is happening and act quickly.
• Assure the effective use of Slate and emerging technologies to improve recruitment, personalization, communication, and operational efficiency.
• Lead the thoughtful use of AI, automation, and predictive tools where they improve results or free staff to spend more time building relationships with students.
• Conduct regular assessment of return on investment across recruitment strategies, travel, partnerships, events, communications and vendors.
• Demonstrate the nuanced practice of bringing data and humanity together.

Rethink Recruitment

K seeks a leader willing to challenge assumptions about how students discover, experience, and choose a college. The Vice President will:

• Build a distinctive recruitment strategy around the students most likely to thrive at Kalamazoo College.
• Reimagine the prospective student journey from first contact through enrollment.
• Craft compelling campus visit and admitted student experiences, demonstrating powerful reasons to choose K.
• Develop sophisticated segmentation and personalized communication strategies.
• Strengthen recruitment of transfer, international, first-generation, and other strategically important student populations.
• Build meaningful relationships with school counselors, community-based organizations, and external partners.
• Ensure that K combines the best of high-touch liberal arts recruitment with the speed, sophistication and personalization today's students expect.

Lead Financial Aid Strategically

The Vice President will provide strategic leadership for financial aid and work closely with the President, CFO and other senior leaders to:

• Develop financial aid strategies that advance access while supporting enrollment and net tuition revenue goals.
• Evaluate pricing, discounting, merit aid, and need-based aid through rigorous modeling.
• Use aid strategically to improve yield and shape the entering class.
• Ensure that financial aid policies and practices are understandable to students and families.
• Maintain excellent compliance with all federal, state, and institutional requirements.
• Partner with Advancement to strengthen philanthropic support for scholarships and access.
• Lead a balanced financial aid strategy that meets the simultaneous requirements of access and enrollment.

Engage the Entire Community in Enrollment Management

Create productive partnerships across the College and make it easier for faculty, coaches, staff, students, alumni, and trustees to contribute to recruitment in the following ways:

• Partner with Academic Affairs to connect market intelligence with academic strategy and help identify programs, experiences and partnerships with strong student demand.
• Collaborate with Marketing and Communication to build an integrated enrollment marketing strategy that differentiates K and reaches the right students with the right messages at the right time.
• Treat Athletics as an important enrollment partnership, with clear goals, shared data and strong coordination between coaches and enrollment staff.
• Connect recruitment promises to the lived student experience and strengthen the relationship between enrollment and student success.
• Work with Advancement to develop scholarship resources, activate alumni networks, and strengthen connections between philanthropy and enrollment priorities.
• Align enrollment, financial aid, pricing and net tuition revenue strategies with the College's long-term financial model.
• Actively create a campus culture in which enrollment is understood as a shared institutional priority.

Lead a Great Team

The Vice President will lead talented professionals in Admission and Financial Aid and will build an enrollment organization characterized by clarity, accountability, creativity and professional growth. The successful candidate will know that strong enrollment results begin with a strong enrollment team. The Vice President will:

• Set clear goals and expectations and give people the authority to achieve them.
• Recruit, retain, mentor, and develop exceptional enrollment professionals.
• Build a culture that is ambitious about results and generous with colleagues.
• Align organizational structure and talent with institutional priorities.
• Encourage experimentation without confusing activity with progress.
• Invest in professional development and create opportunities for emerging leaders.
• Use technology and automation to reduce unnecessary work and allow staff to spend more time on strategy, relationships, and students.
• Celebrate success—and learn quickly from what does not work. 

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

The next Vice President will be expected to produce measurable progress.

Success will include:

• A larger and stronger prospective student pipeline.
• Significant growth in applications from students well-matched to K.
• Achievement of entering class enrollment goals.
• Improved yield in strategically important student populations.
• Sustainable net tuition revenue.
• A financial aid strategy aligned with both access and institutional sustainability.
• Stronger transfer, Michigan, and national recruitment pipelines.
• A sophisticated, reliable enrollment forecasting and analytics operation.
• Highly productive partnerships with Athletics, Academic Affairs, Marketing, Student Development, Advancement, and Finance.
• A talented enrollment team with clear goals and a culture of accountability and innovation.
• Greater understanding across campus of the competitive marketplace and everyone's role in enrollment.
• A clearer and more compelling answer to a fundamental question: Why K?

THE LEADER WE SEEK

Kalamazoo College seeks an accomplished enrollment leader with the judgment to help shape institutional strategy and the drive to deliver results. Experience at a private college or university is valuable, but K is equally interested in candidates who bring relevant experience, unconventional thinking, and a record of producing results from other educational settings. A bachelor's degree is required; an advanced degree is preferred. Candidates should bring many of the following:

• Significant, progressively responsible leadership experience in enrollment management, admission, financial aid or closely related work.
• A record of achieving ambitious enrollment goals in a competitive environment.
• Deep understanding of contemporary recruitment, admission, and financial aid strategies.
• Sophisticated command of enrollment analytics, forecasting, financial aid leveraging and net tuition revenue.
• Demonstrated ability to translate data into decisions and decisions into action.
• Experience using CRM systems, digital recruitment, technology, and analytics to improve enrollment performance.
• A record of developing new markets, populations, partnerships, or recruitment strategies.
• Experience building, leading and developing high-performing teams.
• Strong understanding of enrollment marketing and contemporary student and family decision-making.
• Ability to communicate complex enrollment information simply and persuasively to faculty, staff, trustees and other audiences.
• Evidence of successful collaboration across organizational boundaries.
• The confidence to challenge assumptions coupled with the judgment to know when listening matters more than talking.
• Resilience, urgency, curiosity, and optimism.
• Ability to honor the best of Kalamazoo today while helping to enthusiastically foster and guide change.
• A competitive spirit with a sincere desire to build the next Kalamazoo College.
• Willingness to ask “What if?” and an openness to new ideas, ability to determine if new ideas will work, and capability of bringing new ideas to fruition. 
• A commitment to expanding educational opportunity and enrolling a talented student body representing a wide range of backgrounds and experiences.
• High integrity, sound judgment, and discretion.
• Intellectually curious, externally focused, and willingness to bring ideas from both inside and outside higher education.

ABOUT KALAMAZOO COLLEGE

Founded in 1833, Kalamazoo College is one of the nation's oldest colleges and universities and a nationally recognized residential college of the liberal arts and sciences. K is best known for the K-Plan, an integrated approach to undergraduate education pioneered by the College in the 1960s. It brings together top-tier academics, international and intercultural learning, career development, civic engagement, and independent scholarship. Every student completes a Senior Integrated Project—an intensive research, creative or applied experience that reflects the independence and intellectual curiosity central to a K education.

Kalamazoo students learn closely with faculty, cross boundaries between disciplines, and connect what happens in the classroom with experiences across the country and around the world. That combination—intellectual rigor, experience, independence and purpose—provides a powerful foundation for the College's future.

Leadership

Dr. Karlyn Crowley became the 19th president of Kalamazoo College on July 1, 2026, bringing a distinguished record of strategic leadership, academic innovation, community partnership and a deep belief in the transformative power of the liberal arts.

As president of Kalamazoo College, Crowley is focused on building on K’s long history of innovation while advancing its reputation for experiential learning, civic engagement and global understanding. She is committed to preparing students for lives and careers that demand both expertise and humanity in an increasingly complex world.

A respected leader, scholar, and national voice on the value of the liberal arts, she is widely recognized for translating bold ideas into action and for bringing people and organizations together around a shared vision for the future. The President is supported by the Cabinet, an experienced and highly collaborative leadership team comprised of five members, including the provost, the vice president for enrollment management, the vice president for business and finance, the vice president for college advancement and the vice president for student development. The College also has a commitment to shared governance. The faculty—represented by the Faculty Executive Committee, the Community Council, the Staff Group and the Kalamazoo College Council of Student Representatives provide input to the policy and decision-making processes that keep K moving forward.

Academics

Kalamazoo enrolls approximately 1275 students from 33 states and 26 countries enrolled in 30 majors, 21 minors and 12 concentrations. The College’s academic curriculum is more open and flexible than those of most peers. With close guidance from dedicated academic advisors, each student crafts a personalized path of study that reflects their unique interests, aspirations and goals—transforming them from passive learners into active architects of their own academic experience. Three Shared Passages Seminars offer a variety of subjects in many fields, cut across disciplines and have at their heart the broad exploration of the liberal arts. In sequence from first year to senior year, these seminars focus on foundational skills (writing, oral expression, information literacy and critical thinking), delve deeply into cultural issues and intercultural understanding, and allow students to integrate the academic and experiential learning that occurred during their entire K journey. The SIP—Senior Integrated Project—brings all the components of the K-Plan into meaningful alignment. 

Student Life

Kalamazoo College students are bright, energetic, highly involved and creative people, and campus life fully reflects these characteristics. K’s student organizations include interest-based, advocacy/affinity-based, social, social action and political groups. Many students participate in the fine and performing arts and form organizations around these pursuits. Students also enjoy a high level of autonomy in planning campus events.

The College offers 22 varsity sports. K participates in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association of NCAA Division III. More than 36% of K students participate in intercollegiate varsity athletics, and the College counts many Academic All-Americans among its current and former Hornets. Historically a powerhouse in tennis (K’s men’s team holds “The Streak” of 74 consecutive conference championships, the most of any sport in NCAA history, and has won 91 conference championships total), the College has seen recent growth and success across its men’s and women’s teams. Significantly for the College and the region, for more than 83 years K has hosted the annual USTA Boys’ 18 & 16 National Tennis Championships.

Campus and Residential Life

The 65-acre, 35-building campus is located in a quiet residential section of Kalamazoo, just blocks from downtown. At the heart of campus is the Quadrangle, a cherished green space where students gather, study, and celebrate throughout the year. The buildings that surround this greensward and extend beyond that perimeter share a visual iconography that unites the entire campus. While K has a celebrated campus with a distinguished history, the campus has prioritized modernizing its spaces to ensure that they will be able to meet the needs of future generations of students. 

New spaces that were renovated or erected within the last decade include the College’s Admission Center, which opened to prospective students in 2017, and the 29,600-square-foot LEED-certified natatorium, which was completed in 2021. Additional projects have included renovations to Stetson Chapel (a cherished space in the Kalamazoo community), updates to classroom spaces to improve technology and flexibility of use, significant maintenance to Dow Science Center and the replacement of electrical and thermal systems across campus. 

More than 60% of K students live on campus, and nearly all off-campus students reside within the surrounding four blocks. The campus features several historic residence halls, the oldest of which celebrated its 100th birthday in September 2025. As such, the College was excited to announce the construction of new residence halls on the east end of campus for juniors and seniors, with move-in expected in fall 2027. The structures are part of an effort to meet a growing need for affordable, on campus housing and will showcase energy efficiency and environmentally conscious building strategies. The common space inside will be accessible to all K students and include a community kitchen, a marketplace, a terrace, and a hall lounge suitable for presentations and programming. 

KALAMAZOO: An Education City with Room to Build

Kalamazoo College sits on a beautiful hilltop campus overlooking downtown Kalamazoo in southwest Michigan. The cultural offerings of the College, the city and other colleges in the area, along with the surrounding natural beauty, give Kalamazoo students an enviable quality of life. K’s location in a thriving region and metropolitan area, offers students exceptional access to companies, institutions and organizations providing experiences that enhance and enrich a K education. 

The city is more than K's location. It is one of the College's greatest opportunities. Kalamazoo combines the energy and resources of a college city with an unusually accessible scale. It’s home to Western Michigan University and Kalamazoo Valley Community College, creating possibilities for academic and community partnerships. The Vice President for Enrollment Management will see Kalamazoo not simply as where the College is located, but as part of what the College can offer.

A City Enhancing the Student Experience

A hub for life sciences and healthcare organizations, the city of Kalamazoo is home to major employers such as Pfizer and Stryker. Local companies such as Heritage Guitars reflect the region's rich and diverse design and manufacturing history, and continue to contribute to a strong economy driven by innovation. The city is also host to cultural institutions, entrepreneurs, and nonprofit organizations, offering employment, services and support for the community. The broader Southwest region of Michigan attracts global companies seeking a skilled workforce, a legacy of innovation, proximity to customers, a sense of community and a low cost of living. The city and region create opportunities for internships, research, entrepreneurship, civic engagement, partnerships and experiences that are an intentional part of what it means to attend K. 

The city comprises 22 neighborhoods, offering students, families and visitors a mix of historic charm, urban amenities, and quiet residential streets. The Downtown area, within walking distance of campus, hosts nightlife, unique shops, affordable award-winning dining, and venues hosting nationally recognized acts. For outdoors enthusiasts, the city is home to numerous lakes, trails, parks, and preserves. 

The College maintains a close and active involvement with the City of Kalamazoo and the broader community, which supports, among other cultural activities, a 100+ year old professional symphony orchestra, an art institute, a nature center, and both professional and community theatres. Kalamazoo County is also home to world-class museums and attractions including the Smithsonian affiliated Air Zoo Aerospace and Science Museum and the Gilmore Car Museum, North America’s largest automobile museum. From local productions to hosted touring Broadway performances, Kalamazoo County's theatre and performing arts venues are filled with talented voices and dancers who are ready to entertain. The community hosts eight farmers markets showcasing offerings from local farmers, food businesses, and artisans. Year-round festivals, a monthly gallery-to-gallery “Art Hop,” and a wide variety of restaurants and breweries bring additional vibrancy to the city. 

The Kalamazoo Event Center is slated to open in the fall of 2027. The arena will host sporting events and concerts, and will be the home of Kalamazoo's professional hockey team, the Kalamazoo Wings. The Kalamazoo Indoor Sports Facility, a 140,000-square-foot indoor sports complex will also enhance Kalamazoo’s ability to attract major sporting events, boost tourism, create jobs, and generate millions in new economic activity. 

The Kalamazoo Promise

Kalamazoo likes to refer to itself as “the education city,” not only because of its higher education institutions, but because of the Kalamazoo Promise, a scholarship available to all Kalamazoo Public School students that covers up to 100% of tuition and mandatory fees at any Michigan public university and many private colleges and universities, including Kalamazoo College. Reflecting its deep commitment to the city and its residents, the College became a proud partner of the Kalamazoo Promise Foundation in 2015. This collaboration creates intentional opportunities for local K-12 students to access a transformative Kalamazoo College education. Over 230 Promise scholars have enrolled at the College, gaining access to the transformative experiences that define each student's educational journey. 

Visiting Kalamazoo

Kalamazoo is just 35 miles from Lake Michigan and approximately 140 miles from both Detroit and Chicago on Interstate 94. The city is served by the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport, and Amtrak service from downtown is available several times a day. 

Compensation

Kalamazoo College offers a competitive compensation package and a salary commensurate with qualifications and experience; consult with the NES search team for insights. In this important leadership position, the successful candidate will have an active on-campus presence. Offers of employment will be conditional upon satisfactory results of a background check.

To Apply

NES, a national executive search firm specializing in higher education, is assisting Kalamazoo College with this search for a Vice President for Enrollment Management. If you wish to have a confidential conversation about this opportunity or submit nominations, please contact: Drew Nichols (drew.nichols@nessearches.com), Laura Robinson (laura.robinson@nessearches.com), or Catherine Capolupo (catherine.capolupo@nessearches.com). To apply, please send the following items: 1) a resume, 2) a detailed letter of interest, and 3) contact information for five professional references by email to: kalamazoo@nessearches.com. For best consideration, all application materials should be submitted electronically by December 15, 2026. All inquiries, nominations, and applications will be handled with the utmost confidentiality, and candidates will be notified before references are contacted. The VPEM’s anticipated start date is June 2027.

Kalamazoo College encourages candidates who will contribute to the cultural diversity of the College to apply and to identify themselves if they wish. An equal opportunity employer, Kalamazoo College is committed to equal rights, equal opportunities, and equal protection under the law. Please be invited to review our full EEO statement by visiting https://www.kzoo.edu/about/nondiscrimination-policy/. To provide a safe and secure educational environment, Kalamazoo College conducts criminal background reviews on all people who receive an offer of employment. Kalamazoo College is an E-Verify participating employer. Please select Notice and Rights for more information.