Vice President for Enrollment Management
January 2015
Vice President for Enrollment Management
The University of Southern Maine (USM), with three campuses in Portland, Gorham, and
Lewiston-Auburn College, seeks an accomplished and visionary leader for the position of Vice
President for Enrollment Management (VPEM). The VPEM reports directly to the President,
David T. Flanagan, sits on the President’s Cabinet, and is a senior member of a new
leadership team that is charged to transform and strengthen USM as it relates to operating
with academic distinction in support of USM’s students and communities; to supporting
engaged teaching, learning, scholarship, creation, and service, and to supporting accessible
and affordable transformative higher education for USM’s students.
The VPEM will serve as the USM lead recruitment, admissions, retention, and registration
officer. S/he will bring an entrepreneurial spirit to the design, creation, and success of an
aggressive, innovative, student focused, and strategic enrollment management process and
will set recruitment and retention goals and measure team success based on the University
leadership revenue goals.
The University of Southern Maine
Campus Locations
USM is a university where creativity and fresh ideas flourish, inspired by the beauty and variety
of Maine. Each of the three environmentally friendly campuses is unique, yet all share the
extensive resources of the university -- with plenty of Husky pride to go around. Students find
resources and student life activities at their fingertips on each campus.
Typically, USM students enrolled in programs from the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social
Sciences; the College of Science, Technology and Health; and the College of Management
and Human Service attend classes in both Gorham and Portland. They enjoy an easy
commute between the two campuses on a free, energy-efficient USM shuttle bus, complete
with Wi-Fi. Students enrolled in programs from the Lewiston-Auburn College commute and
typically attend classes only on the Lewiston-Auburn campus.
From Portland’s lively Old Port to Lewiston’s vibrant arts district to Gorham’s friendly village
center, each close-knit campus community offers a different flavor of Maine to experience and
enjoy.
 The Portland campus is located in “one of America’s most livable cities,’’ according
to Forbes magazine, which also ranks Portland among the top 10 for job prospects. And
it’s nationally known as a “foodie” hot spot!
 The Gorham campus is home to six Living-Learning Communities and six Residential
Communities, or special interest housing options, including outdoor adventure,
international living, the arts, and academic programs such as our STEM (Science,
Technology, Engineering and Math) community.
 The Lewiston campus, home to USM’s Lewiston-Auburn College, fits right in with the
area’s lively arts scene with its Atrium Gallery where regular exhibits highlight
outstanding Maine artists.
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Maine’s Metropolitan University
At the University of Southern Maine, we extend the academic experience well beyond our
classroom walls. We encourage our students to engage deeply with our faculty, our community
partners, and our wide network of USM alumni, many of who have remained in Maine long
after graduation.
USM faculty and alumni are helping to strengthen the fabric of Maine by contributing to its
social and economic vitality, supporting our higher education goals, and opening doors for the
next generation. Providing opportunities to participate, discover, learn, create, and make a
difference is central to who we are as Maine’s Metropolitan University™. With three campuses
located within the state’s most populous regions, USM offers students a chance to get involved
at a level that’s hard to match at other public universities in Maine.
The University of Southern Maine was an early member of the Coalition of Urban and
Metropolitan Universities (CUMU), which formed in 1989. The members of CUMU, today
numbering nearly 100, share a purposeful commitment to the place in which each resides, an
abiding engagement and a mutually beneficial relationship with their communities and the
needs of those communities. This is, and has long been, the mission of the University of
Southern Maine. Our community partners include state and local government, global
businesses, top-rated teaching hospitals, Double-A and Development League sports teams,
performing arts venues, and dozens of other organizations in the largest metropolitan areas in
Maine. These partnerships provide our students with rewarding hands-on learning experiences
through research and fieldwork, internships, and public service projects. They work on realworld issues, engage in complex problem solving, and give back in ways that shape their
careers as well as their communities.
Last year, nearly 5,000 students contributed over 370,000 hours of service to regional
businesses and non-profit organizations, valued at more than $6.2 million. These valuable
connections have made direct and positive differences in our students’ lives and in the lives of
others. Whether our students find themselves on our Portland, Gorham, or Lewiston-Auburn
College campuses, they will find themselves here at USM.
Leadership
President David T. Flanagan
David T. Flanagan, a lifelong citizen of Maine, has had a remarkably diverse career of service
in higher education, private business, government, and non-profit organization leadership. He
has specialized in handling complex problems, addressing difficult turnaround situations, and
managing emergencies in all of these sectors. He served as a member (1986-1995) and
chairman (1991-2) of the University of Maine System (USM) Board of Trustees (BOT), leading
it through a major recession while preserving and consolidating the advances recommended
by the Strider/Muskie commission. In 2009, he was asked by the Board of Trustees to chair the
New Challenges, New Directions task force on the future of USM. The subsequent report, and
his analysis of the financial risks to the university and the need to find efficiencies and new
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opportunities for growth were prescient. David served a term on the board of Thomas College,
a small, private academic institution in Waterville. Additionally, he served internationally, as a
board member (1993-2011), chairman (2004-8), and council member (2011-present) of the
American University in Bulgaria, a highly successful new school established by the US
government in the post-communist Balkans with the help of the University of Maine System.
Until this appointment, he served as chairman of the Board of Visitors of the Muskie School of
Public Service at USM (2008-2014), where he chaired the External Review committee on
restructuring (2013).
In addition to his public service, he has worked professionally in both law and business. A
partner at Pierce Atwood and then CEO of Central Maine Power (CMP), he has faced
demanding challenges. Of significant note, David managed CMP at a time of deregulation,
declining market share, and financial uncertainty. His leadership during this time, and during
the 1998 ice storm, benefitted the company and the state of Maine.
In government, he worked on major problems involving the spruce budworm epidemic and the
restoration of public reserved lands to public control. As Chief Counsel for Governor Brennan
he worked on economic development initiatives and balancing the budget without increasing
taxes, among other major projects. While serving as General Counsel to the US Senate
Homeland Security Committee, he worked on the investigation of the federal government’s
poor response to Hurricane Katrina.
In the non-profit sector, he is currently working as a member of the Board of the Harold Alfond
Foundation. David chaired the Maine Chapter of the Nature Conservancy during a period of
rapid growth. Additionally, he led, along with his wife, Kaye, a major fundraising effort for a prek education center in Augusta for children with disabilities.
David was educated at Bangor, Hamden, and Portland, Maine public schools, Harvard College
BA '69; University of London (England), King's College MA '70; Boston College Law School JD
'73. He is a member of the bars of Maine, the US District Court, and the US Supreme Court.
He currently resides in Manchester, Maine with his wife Kaye, who is also active in the civic life
of the state.
Portland, Maine
All three campuses are located near metropolitan Portland. It is a diverse, creative, and
beautiful city that has frequently been listed as one of American’s top cities to live, work, play,
and visit. Portland is a very livable city whether you want to be a part of an active urban
environment or a small residential neighborhood; Portland boasts lifestyles that appeal to
everyone. From market rate condos to artist live-work spaces, single-family homes to
affordable housing and rentals, mixed use developments and college dorms all are found
throughout the city. Arts, educational, entertainment, business, and cultural opportunities, a
wide range of faith based institutions, outstanding medical care, outdoor amenities, and much
more are a part of the Portland Community.
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Portland is the largest city in the state of Maine and the Greater Portland metropolitan area is
home to over a million people, more than one-third Maine’s total population. Tourists visit
Portland’s historic Old Port district along Portland Harbor and the Arts District, which is located
along Congress Street, in the center of the City. Portland is believed to have the most
restaurants per capita of any city in the United States and has developed a national reputation
for the quality of its restaurants. In 2009, Portland was named the “Foodiest Small Town in
America by Bon Appétit magazine and was featured in the New York Times as a food
destination. Many local chefs have gained national attention over the past few years.
The Position – Vice President for Enrollment Management
The Vice President for Enrollment (VPEM) serves as the University of Southern Maine’s (USM)
lead recruitment, admissions, retention, and registration officer. This position will be expected
to bring an entrepreneurial spirit to the design, creation, and success of an aggressive,
innovative, student focused, and strategic enrollment management process to USM. The
VPEM will set recruitment and retention goals and measure team success based on the
University leadership revenue goals. The VPEM will embrace and utilize USM’s position as
Maine’s Metropolitan University to attract, engage, and retain students; The University is
engaged in improving our communities through teaching, learning, and productive, mutually
respectful and beneficial engagement.
The VPEM will take a strategic leadership role in partnering with faculty and staff across the
campus to achieve enrollment goals and to help provide a seamless organizational structure,
ensuring an integrated and fully aligned student pathway from recruitment to graduation. The
VPEM will serve as a member of the Management Group, the President’s Cabinet, and on
campus committees as designated by the President.
The Opportunities for the VP for Enrollment Management
 Setting and meeting university enrollment and retention goals while committing to a
student-centered, community engaged culture that continually improves all services to
students;
 Increasing the use of technology and data to more effectively advance the productivity
and success of Recruitment, Admission and Registration, Advising, and all other VPEM
areas to realize enrollment and retention objectives;
 Developing and implementing enrollment forecast models, in close collaboration with
the Director of Recruitment and Admission, that are based on data-informed decision
making and a structured, aggressive enrollment plan;
 In collaboration with the Office of institutional Research and Assessment and the Office
of the Provost, consistently providing results and strategy reporting in response to
forecasts and retention data and lead action to nimbly adapt and change as conditions
demand;
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In the Area of Recruitment and Admissions:
Providing leadership that assists the Recruitment and Admission area in creating a
model for best practices in the recruitment of students;
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Motivating University constituencies (staff, faculty, alumni, and students) to support
University recruitment and enrollment efforts;
Providing strategic, creative leadership to recruitment efforts and initiatives with the
expectation of meeting or exceeding goals;
Advocating for diversity and inclusiveness;
Improving yield rates for accepted students;
Collaborating with Marketing and Public Affairs to foster a brand awareness for the
University of Southern Maine, to support competitive positioning of USM’s brand, and to
celebrate its position as Maine’s Metropolitan University;
Collaborating with the Office of the Provost and others to assure that the University of
Southern Maine offers an exceptional, student-focused, in demand learning opportunity
that meets students’ needs and expectations.
Financial Aid
Providing leadership to Financial Aid to assure competitive financial aid packages are
available for all prospective, qualified students;
Collaborating with the Office of the CFO on matters of Financial Aid.
Academic Advising
Providing leadership for a revised, strategic direction for USM Academic Advising
models to ensure improved retention and improved persistence, especially in first year
students;
Ensuring that all students are connected early and consistently to and engaged with
their faculty, their programs, their majors, their peers, and their community;
Overseeing increased usage of and resourcing for the Learning Commons and or other
academic and tutoring resources to overturn non-persistence in several targeted areas.
Engaged Learning and Career Development
Providing leadership over the new, collaborative Office of Engaged Learning and Career
Development to assure that USM students are socially embedded in our community and
provided with opportunities and connections that will allow for transformative learning
and fulfilling post-education employment.
Registration
Providing leadership on the strategic direction of the Office of the University Registrar;
Providing leadership that assists the Registrar area in creating a model for best
practices in registration and student records and transcripts- a model that is intuitive,
non-complex, and offers opportunity for self-service and other delivery modalities;
Understanding the utilization of technology to best advance the goals of the Registrar’s
Office and to best advance a student-centered culture.
Student Life
Providing leadership to the Office of the Dean of Students that:
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o Assists in collaborating and aligning student activities with all other campus
activities and constituencies that impact student recruitment and retention;
o Assists in supporting a safe and healthy student environment;
o Assists in supporting the development of the whole person by fostering an
awareness of lifelong learning and promoting the development of skills for
effective citizenship in a diverse world; and in support of promoting a vibrant
intellectual climate that offers an active and inclusive community.
Qualifications:
The Vice President for Enrollment Management will have the following experience,
capabilities, and attributes:
 Significant executive experience in complex higher education enrollment services
administration and demonstrated skill in high-level management and leadership and in
inspiring and leading change;
 Knowledge of best practices in enrollment management and a proven track record of
increasing enrollment and retention in a college or university setting while supporting
and maintaining an academic environment that operates with distinction;
 Exceptional and creative communication and critical thinking skills, combined with the
proven ability to move ideas forward in a collaborative manner;
 Ability to develop, communicate, and advocate for a compelling strategy and work
effectively with colleagues at the University and with a variety of external groups;
 Knowledge of trends, tendencies, and advances affecting student enrollment and
retention;
 Proficiency in data analysis combined with proven record of successfully using datadriven decision-making methods;
 Strong ability to implement, benchmark, assess, and be accountable for efforts, and
initiatives;
 Proven record of budgetary skills
 Track record of consistent and excellent performance in enrollment management
success;
 Enthusiasm, optimism, and passion for The University of Southern Maine and it’s
students;
 Minimum a Bachelor’s Degree, with an Advanced Degree strongly preferred.
Please send nominations and applications, with a detailed letter of interest and Resume to:
Andy Evans, Principal
Mo Lashendock, Vice President
Brill Neumann Associates
Boston, MA 02116
USMEnrollment@brillneumann.com
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The University of Southern Maine shall not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex,
sexual orientation, national origin or citizenship status, age, disability, or veteran’s status in
employment, education, and all other areas of the University. The University provides reasonable
accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities upon request.
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