Pomona College is seeking qualified applicants for the position of Vice President and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid. NES, a higher education search firm specializing in enrollment management searches, is assisting Pomona College and invites conversations, nominations, and applications for this important campus leadership position.
Pomona College is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading liberal arts colleges, offering an ideal environment for intellectually curious students to pursue their academic and life goals. Pomona holds a unique role in creating opportunity in American higher education and is committed to enrolling the best undergraduate students regardless of financial circumstances. Pomona’s enrollment of over 1,700 undergraduate students come from all 50 states and 65 countries. The population of students is highly diverse with 57 percent students of color. Pomona College places a strong priority in providing access and support for a diverse student population.
Pomona College is one of a small group of colleges committed to meeting the full demonstrated financial need of all students who enroll. In addition, Pomona is committed to a need-blind admissions process for U.S. citizens, permanent residents and all students graduating from U.S. high schools. The College offers need-based scholarships and grants, to meet 100 percent of demonstrated need, as determined by submission of the FAFSA and CSS Profile. Loans are not included in offers of financial aid but are made available to help families finance their expected family contribution.
The Vice President and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid will join the senior leadership team of Dr. G. Gabrielle Starr, President of Pomona College. Dr. Starr is a highly regarded scholar of English literature whose work reaches across neuroscience and the arts. President Starr joined Pomona College in 2017 as the 10th president, and is a national voice on access to college for students of all backgrounds and on the future of higher education, with a track record of promoting greater access to higher education.
Along with the role of Vice President and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, the President’s Senior Leadership team consists of: Chief of Staff and Secretary to the Board; Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College; Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students; Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Treasurer; Chief Communications Officer; Vice President and Chief Information Officer; and Vice President for Advancement.
RESPONSIBILITIES and PRIORITIES
In their role as Vice President and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, the selected candidate will be responsible for the following duties and priorities:
University Leadership
- Serve as a thought leader and confidently inspire others to understand and support enrollment strategies.
- Bring significant enrollment experience and landscape knowledge to Pomona College, building on the considerable strength of the institution and raising the visibility of the College.
- Exhibit a willingness to build upon a deep legacy and foundation of diversity, and a strong commitment to inclusiveness and belonging within a liberal arts environment.
- Contribute to the president’s senior leadership team and ensure that the ongoing work of the enrollment team is aligned with, and in support of, the goals and objectives in the Strategic Vision of Pomona College; engage and partner in the ongoing strategic planning work, bringing an enrollment lens to issues of institutional size, diversity, and all facets of the planning process.
Strategic Enrollment Management
- Maintain the superb academic quality of the student body and extend the reach of ongoing strategic recruitment efforts.
- Develop a strategic enrollment plan based on data analytics that demonstrates knowledge of demographics, best practices in enrollment and financial aid policies, market trends, and innovative thinking.
- Enhance and promote enrollment initiatives to achieve diversity, equity and inclusion goals through the recruitment of underrepresented domestic and international students, as well as continued partnerships with related high schools and community based organizations.
- Evaluate, enhance, and execute need-based financial aid policies and procedures to optimize enrollment goals while continuing to prioritize the College’s net revenue.
- Implement financial aid policies that are committed to access and affordability through the use of need-blind domestic admission, while also guaranteeing to meet full demonstrated financial need.
- Manage the division’s budget in a resourceful and effective manner.
Collaboration
- In partnership with the Office of Communications and through the use of creative and innovative enrollment marketing efforts, reach students across various delivery modalities, program audiences, geographic regions and diverse student populations.
- Participate in and nurture a collegial community to inspire a collaborative culture; build and enhance relationships, through skillful communication, with a wide range of colleagues from the Pomona faculty to colleagues at the Claremont Colleges.
- Serve on the faculty committee of Admissions and Financial Aid and collaborate with the faculty chair on issues of mutual interest pertaining to admissions and financial aid.
- Strengthen every partnership across campus to maximize the recruitment of a student body which reflects Pomona’s many strengths including Division III athletics, the arts, undergraduate research, study abroad, and countless other areas.
- Contribute to a data rich culture by expanding the use of data-informed decision making, creating and distributing appropriate reports and data, and providing increased access to data, reporting, and analysis broadly across enrollment management offices and the College.
Supervision and Mentorship
- Oversee the offices of admissions and financial aid and a staff of approximately 31 professionals, with four appointed direct reports, and coordinate their work with both prospective and current students.
- Create a culture of trust through transparency and authenticity; inspire and empower a highly functioning, goal-oriented, and data-driven team, and invest in the professional development of the staff.
- Provide a positive leadership approach that develops, motivates, and empowers a talented and successful team toward a common goal through collaborative and inclusive practices.
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 enrollment. An appreciation and demonstrated understanding of the liberal arts mission of the institution 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:
- A genuine desire and ability to collaborate across campus.
- A seasoned enrollment manager who is experienced with a selective admission process that is committed to advancing diversity, inclusivity, and belonging.
- A creative innovator who is compelled to elevate Pomona in a complex environment.
- Data savvy, strategically deft, finely tuned skills in predictive modeling and analytics.
- Passion for the liberal arts, as well as an appreciation for the power of higher education especially in a high touch environment.
- Personal qualities of transparency, trustworthiness, approachability and a sense of humor.
- Desire for achieving results that can be sustained long-term and reflect a commitment to Pomona both in the present and in the future.
- Outstanding communication skills, both written and spoken; ability to make a compelling case to students and their families for Pomona College and the powerful experience available to students.
- Demonstrated ability to lead and motivate an outstanding staff.
- Positioned to influence national organizations and participate in national conversations on admissions, financial aid and enrollment.
- Intellectual curiosity that comes with humility, a strong work ethic, and willingness to be open minded.
Pomona College - Mission, History, and the Claremont Colleges Consortium
Mission Statement
Throughout its history, Pomona College has educated students of exceptional promise. We gather individuals, regardless of financial circumstances, into a small residential community that is strongly rooted in Southern California yet global in its orientation.
Through close ties among a diverse group of faculty, staff and classmates, Pomona students are inspired to engage in the probing inquiry and creative learning that enable them to identify and address their intellectual passions. This experience will continue to guide their contributions as the next generation of leaders, scholars, artists and engaged members of society to fulfill the vision of the College’s founders: to bear their added riches in trust for all.
Pomona College was incorporated on October 14, 1887, by a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate “a college of the New England type” on the West Coast. By the 1920s, Pomona faced a difficult choice; to limit expansion to retain the College’s unique character or allow growth and expand into a university. The College chose a third path. Using Oxford and Cambridge as models, Pomona founded a consortium unlike any other in America.
Over the next 75 years, four other undergraduate colleges (known as the 5Cs) and two graduate schools joined Pomona as members of The Claremont Colleges, located on neighboring campuses. Located within one square mile, the seven adjoining campuses are only a short walk from one another. The Claremont Colleges include:
- Pomona College (Founded 1887)
- Claremont Graduate University (Founded 1925)
- Scripps College (Founded 1926)
- Claremont McKenna College (Founded 1946)
- Harvey Mudd College (Founded 1955)
- Pitzer College (Founded 1963)
Each institution has its own student body, faculty, governance, curricular emphasis, culture, and mission. Intercollegiate cooperation provides university-scale services and facilities. With 8,500 students and 3,200 faculty and staff, located on more than 540 acres of land, The Claremont Colleges benefit from the diverse missions, character and culture, as well as the integration of academic and extracurricular programs that make up this truly unique consortium. Pomona students may supplement the College’s already comprehensive curriculum by taking classes at any of the undergraduate Claremont Colleges. The more than 2,700 courses available include intercollegiate majors and a wide range of language offerings. Although each institution is autonomous, academic calendars and registration procedures are coordinated to make cross-registration easy. A two-million volume library serves all the campuses, and the broad range of speakers’ series, guest lectures, art exhibits, plays and performances, as well as clubs and organizations at the other colleges, adds immeasurably to academic and co-curricular opportunities. For faculty and staff, the consortium allows for a unique option to engage regularly with peers and colleagues to collectively share ideas and information, and it also offers a rare support system within one’s own division of work.
Pomona College is governed by the President and The Board of Trustees of Pomona College, entrusted with overseeing the College’s leadership, planning and resources, working to ensure the continuing vitality of the institution and its ability to fulfill its mission now and for future generations.
For more information on leadership at Pomona College, visit: https://www.pomona.edu/about/college-leadership
Pomona College is navigating a crucial turning point on issues of access, diversity, equity, and inclusivity. Pomona is a globally recognized institution in Southern California—a region at the forefront of diversity, openness, and innovation – and has placed a primary priority on diversity and access. The strategic vision for the institution states that in an era of rising economic inequality and financial distress for many, access to a Pomona education regardless of family income remains a bedrock value of the College. Pomona fortifies its commitment to need-blind financial aid and seeks to fully endow financial aid. Pomona also seeks to increase affordability for families across the income distribution to bring to campus a student body that better represents the U.S.
Read more about Pomona College, Strategic Vision.
A diverse student body and curriculum gives Pomona students unique and important opportunities for intellectual, emotional and ethical growth. It provides them with the necessary tools creatively to face the challenges of today’s world—political divisiveness, social upheaval, and structural inequities—and to build communities and organizations that are open, vibrant, and diverse.
Students benefit from an 8 to 1 ratio with their professors, on average. Their liberal arts journey begins with general education for a breadth of study, and critical inquiry, with rigorous interdisciplinary study. In the final two years, students focus on their majors, with a “Senior Exercise” culminating in a major body of work. Many students choose to study abroad in their third year, and Pomona offers 59 programs from which to choose. Students also have the opportunity to work side-by-side with professors in deeply engaging research in world-class facilities and in the field, during the school year and in the summer. A wide array of internship opportunities offer vital real-world experiences and chances to build students’ post-college path.
Ninety-four percent of students live on campus all four years, and many professors live within five miles of campus. Pomona offers 16 residence Halls on its 140-acre campus, along with three dining halls, a student run co-op fountain for extended hour dining, and a break/lunch cafe and coffee house. Considered the hub for Pomona students, Claremont Colleges collectively offer more than 250 clubs and 2,000 classes from which Pomona students can choose.
Pomona combines forces with Pitzer College to field 21 varsity teams – The Sagehens – that compete in Division III NCAA athletics and as members of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC). Approximately 25 percent of Pomona students participate on 10 men’s and 11 women’s varsity teams.
The small suburb of Claremont has grown up around Pomona College since its inception in 1887. As each of the seven colleges in The Claremont Colleges was founded and blossomed, Claremont grew into a unique Southern California oasis as a beautifully landscaped town full of scholars with a vibrant downtown. The adjoining colleges comprise one square mile of the 13.4 square mile city “of trees and Ph.D.s.”
Students have access to the resources of a large university including amazing facilities, the potential to meet thousands of fellow scholars, while living at a residential college in a quaint, walkable college town with restaurants, boutiques, a comedy club, and an art-house cinema. Los Angeles is just 35 miles away, accessible via the local commuter train or Zipcar.
To Apply
NES is assisting Pomona College with this search for a Vice President and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid. If you wish to have a confidential conversation about this opportunity or submit nominations, please contact: Robin Reynders, robin.reynders@nessearches.com, Laura Robinson, laura.robinson@nessearches.com or Mary Napier, mary.napier@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: Pomona@nessearches.com. For assurance of full consideration, please submit application materials no later than April 22, 2024. Applications will be reviewed until the position is filled. All applications and nominations will be considered confidential, and notice will be given before references are contacted. The Vice President’s projected start date is summer 2024.
The projected salary range for this position is $240,000 - $290,000. Pomona College offers a wide variety of benefits including health, dental, and vision plan options; paid time off; flexible spending accounts; retirement benefits; tuition assistance; fitness and wellness programs; rideshare incentives; and additional benefits.
Pomona College prides itself on being an open, competitive, and equal opportunity employer.