Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Dean of Admissions and Enrollment Management
Boston, Massachusetts
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt), the nation’s first and only public college of art
and design, seeks a Dean of Admissions and Enrollment Management to join its vibrant urban
community and help solidify the institution’s position at the forefront of art and design education.
A diverse, civic-minded, close-knit community, MassArt has built a legacy based on making the
highest-quality visual arts education accessible to students from all backgrounds, and is poised for
further growth and development.
MassArt is at a particularly exciting moment. A unique public-private partnership with the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, established in 2003 and made permanent in 2008, enabled the
College to set a bold new direction for its future. A new master plan and comprehensive campaign
will help to transform the campus over the next ten years, resulting in enhanced academic
opportunities and amenities for all students as MassArt reaches the milestone of its 150 th
anniversary. A new Design and Media Center, set to open in 2016, will strengthen links with
businesses while further emphasizing careers and career paths for our students, highlighting
MassArt’s leadership position in the Commonwealth’s contemporary creative economy. In addition
to this, MassArt is one of five institutions with a specialized focus on the arts, medicine or health
professions, to the receive the prestigious 2015 Community Engagement Classification by the
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, recognizing it’s deep commitment to its
public mission.
The Dean of Admissions and Enrollment Management will play a key role in the next phase of
MassArt’s development as the College meets the challenges of delivering a world-class art and
design education in a changing world. The Dean will connect the College with external
constituencies and partners and will be integral to the College leadership as a member of the
president’s Administrative Council and public spokesperson for the institution.
Capitalizing on a long history of success and innovation, the Dean of Admissions and Enrollment
Management will have the unique opportunity to lead the recruitment and admissions function
within a premier art school. In addition to overseeing undergraduate and graduate admissions and
enrollment management, the Dean will partner with the other areas of the college, Professional
and Continuing Education and Youth Programs, to develop and ensure a holistic enrollment
management strategy for the future. As a key member of the administrative team reporting to the
President, the new Dean will play a pivotal leadership role in preserving MassArt’s status as a leader
of visual art and design schools within the United States and in emerging international markets.
The ideal candidate will be an experienced, forward-looking administrator with a broad
understanding of admissions and recruitment strategy. They will have a minimum of eight to ten
years’ experience in higher education which include at least five years’ experience in college
admissions; broad knowledge of and expertise in the implementation of tools and best practices in
recruitment, admissions and enrollment management; a willingness to take strategic risks to
broaden the position and brand of MassArt; and an exceptional talent for working collaboratively
with others and for implementing and managing change within an academic and artistic
community. Moreover, they will share the college’s commitment to diversity and access in higher
education. An appreciation of the role of visual art and design in contemporary culture and an
understanding of issues specific to professional education in the arts are essential. A bachelor’s
degree is required, an advanced degree in arts, higher education or a related field preferred.
HISTORY AND MISSION
MassArt was founded with the understanding that publicly supported and accessible education in
visual art and design is vital to the cultural, economic, and social strength of the Commonwealth.
Civic and business leaders in mid-nineteenth century Massachusetts, responding to increased
foreign competition, developed strategies to ensure long-term economic development and
enhance the quality of life in the Commonwealth. To improve manufacturing design and advance
fine art and technical education, they worked with the state legislature to found several
institutions, including MIT (1860), the Museum of Fine Arts (1870), and Massachusetts Normal
School of Art (1873), which became Massachusetts College of Art in 1959. In 2007, to better reflect
its broad-based mission and programs, the College was officially renamed Massachusetts College
of Art and Design.
THE COLLEGE TODAY
Since those early years, when the seeds of the creative economy were planted, MassArt has
evolved into a leader in art and design education in the United States. As an institution committed
to providing an accessible, high quality professional arts and design education accompanied by a
strong general education in the liberal arts, MassArt’s professional baccalaureate and graduate
programs prepare students to participate in the creative economy as fine artists, designers, and art
educators, and to engage in the well-being of their society. The College offers the bachelor of fine
arts degree in 22 disciplines; graduate programs including master of fine arts, a nationally
accredited master of architecture, master of science in art education, and a state accredited master
of arts in teaching; certificate programs; and professional and continuing education and youth
programs which also serve as pathways to the College. This includes Artward Bound, the region’s
first four year art-integrated academic college preparatory program in the visual arts, designed for
underserved potential first generation who live and attend schools in Boston.
The College serves 1700 undergraduate students and 130 graduate students. Professional and
Continuing Education and Youth Programs serve over 2000 students. The student population is
diverse, with students of color representing 24% of the student body. The college has seen
significant growth in enrollments of students of color over the past several years and in the past
five years, the number of Hispanic/Latino students has more than doubled. Students of color
constituted 30% of the most recent entering class, and the college has the goal of continuing this
trend in the coming years, consistent with the demographics of our primary markets.
The MassArt community believes that part of its mission as a public college is to be a resource to
the greater community as a center for art and design education. To this end, the College offers an
array of public programs, including innovative exhibitions, lectures and events, professional
development programs for educators, and youth art classes that have been consistently recognized
as excellent and innovative. In recent years the Boston Globe listed two of the MassArt’s exhibitions
in the top ten of all Boston exhibitions.
Student and faculty life is further enhanced by the Colleges of the Fenway and ProArts consortia,
where cross-registration, intramurals, lectures, events and general access to the world-class
resources of the Museum of Fine Arts, Gardner Museum, and the Longwood Medical area are
available. Faculty and alumni have been awarded Guggenheims, Fulbrights, National Endowment
for the Arts Fellowships, and the AIGA Medal as well as regional awards such as the Museum of
Fine Arts’ Maud Morgan Prize, ICA Prize, and fellowships of the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
MassArt has been recognized by the Washington Post as a superior value among the top public
colleges – nationwide – with high graduation rates. The joint accreditation team of the National
Association of Schools of Art and Design and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges
hailed MassArt as ”an exciting national model in art education.” The American Council on Education
remarked, “Massachusetts College of Art and Design is one of a few public colleges creatively
responding to the future challenges of funding public higher education in the United States.”
ADMISSIONS AND ENROLLMENT
MassArt draws students from across the country and around the world for both the undergraduate
and graduate programs and degrees. Approximately 66% of undergraduate students are
Massachusetts residents; 19% are residents of other New England states; the remainder come from
other regions of the United States and abroad. The College has a selective admissions process,
admitting about 65% of almost 2000 undergraduate applicants each year. Approximately 45% of
300-400 applicants are admitted to Masters programs each year.
In addition to a deep commitment to increasing its effectiveness in recruiting urban youth of
diverse backgrounds to the College, MassArt is focused on increasing the percentage of out-ofstate residents among its undergraduate student body, particularly those from outside of New
England. In recent years, due to the College’s belief that global perspectives and experiences
greatly enrich the study of art and design, an emphasis has also been placed on international
recruitment. To support these efforts, admissions officers have attended recruitment events in
Asia, Central America and Europe. Additional opportunities with Veterans and Boston populations
will be a focus of future enrollment strategies.
Two capital projects which support this objective have been completed in the past five years: 1)
renovation of the campus center increased the dining area by one hundred seats, and 2)
construction of a third residence hall, which opened in fall 2012. With these two projects
completed, the College is able to house 40% of its students on campus. Construction of a new
academic building, the Design and Media Center, is underway and is scheduled to open in January
2016.
OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES
Reporting to the President, the Dean of Admissions and Enrollment Management will lead a
diverse, talented team in a collaborative, creative, student-oriented environment. In collaboration
with the full-time Admissions staff of sixteen, including a director, eight professional recruiters, two
operations managers and five support staff, they will foster effective strategies to ensure highquality entering classes for both undergraduate and graduate programs to maintain and grow
enrollment and retention through sound leadership and expert management of the admissions
team. The Dean will possess strong strategic thinking, data driven and planning skills, proven
organizational and supervisory abilities, excellent written, oral and interpersonal communication
skills, and the ability to work effectively with faculty, students, and administrators at all levels.
In the first 12-18 months, the Dean will face the following challenges and opportunities:
Collaborate with other members of the senior administration to achieve enrollment objectives.
In concert with the Director of Student Financial Assistance, the Chief Financial Officer, and the
Associate Vice President for Planning and Research, the Dean will work to define enrollment and
financial aid strategies and procedures in accordance with overall institutional objectives. They will
share responsibility for strategic enrollment planning, developing long term goals and specific
undergraduate and graduate annual targets, along with overall recruitment and financial aid
leveraging strategies across all programs. The Dean will also compile research and reporting to
keep other administrators up to speed on progress towards stated enrollment goals.
Develop and continually refine recruitment strategies to support achievement of strategic
enrollment goals. With the Director of Admissions, the new Dean will design and implement
effective and innovative strategies for expanding and enhancing applicant pools, developing new
and underserved markets, increasing the yield of accepted undergraduate and graduate students,
and expanding diversity of MassArt’s student population. The new Dean will communicate
recruitment strategies to the broader College community and will collaborate with faculty, staff,
students and alumni in enrollment management efforts. They will develop strategies for cultivating
an alumni presence in recruitment activities.
Lead the creation of well-branded, visually dynamic, top-quality outreach, marketing and
admissions materials. In collaboration with the Director of Marketing, the new Dean will develop
a comprehensive admissions marketing plan consistent with the College’s integrated marketing
strategy. They will work as needed with admissions staff, designers, photographers, copywriters,
web developers and others to produce recruitment collateral and will coordinate the process from
concept and design through production and implementation.
Establish application requirements and admissions standards for undergraduate programs that
maintain both broad access and high quality. The Dean is responsible for setting standards and
processes that promote the College’s mission of making the highest-quality visual arts education
accessible to students of all backgrounds. With the Director of Admissions, they will also establish
procedures for the evaluation of undergraduate applications and monitoring of decisions
throughout the admissions cycle.
Strengthen our ability to recruit for specific disciplines within both the undergraduate and
graduate programs. The new Dean will work closely with academic affairs to make data driven
decisions to inform an overall enrollment strategy.
Ensure strong working relationships with art and design teachers in the regions served by the
College. MassArt enjoys an excellent reputation among arts educators. The Dean must foster these
relationships and reach out proactively as the “face” of the institution to secondary schools across
the country and the world.
Provide energetic leadership, vision and effective management for the operations of the Office
of Admissions and Enrollment, including supervising, training and developing professional and
support staff. The new Dean will provide clear performance goals and direction for the department
and will foster a team that understands its role in advancing the broader goals of the College and
vision in admissions strategies. They will be committed to the professional development of the
admissions team and will ensure that the necessary internal infrastructure is in place to maximize
their effectiveness.
Assess and improve the technological capacity of the office internally and its use of technology
externally in recruitment. The new Dean will work with the Chief Information Officer and
information technology staff to assess the status of tools currently in use, select appropriate
technologies to support the admissions and recruitment process and implement their effective use
in the office.
Foster a supportive, student-centered environment committed to the success of all students. The
new Dean will continue to foster an environment where student success is central. They will
integrate student voices, perspectives and contact in the admissions process to convey MassArt’s
community focus to prospective students and parents. They will collaborate closely with the Dean
of Students’ Office and the Provost’s Office to design programs and initiatives that enhance the
overall retention of students and create a positive learning environment. They will also ensure that
affirmative action, equal opportunity and diversity are integrally tied to all actions and decisions
for which the Dean is responsible and which fall within the scope of the College’s Affirmative
Action/Equal Opportunity/Diversity Plan.
QUALIFICATIONS OF THE IDEAL CANDIDATE
The Dean of Admissions and Enrollment will be a seasoned professional who embodies MassArt’s
commitment to excellence and accessibility and possesses the passion and creativity necessary to
drive progress towards enhanced enrollment and retention. A bachelor’s degree and eight to ten
years of experience in higher education, with five years of progressively responsible experience in
college admissions are required; experience at a college of visual or performing arts is preferred.
While no one candidate will embody all the qualifications enumerated below, the ideal candidate
will possess many of the following professional and personal abilities, attributes and experiences:

Broad knowledge of admissions, recruitment and enrollment trends, regulations, best
practices and cutting edge strategies to build a high quality student body with a view toward
future trends in education. A record of success in building or transforming systems and
operations in the admissions field.

Strong organizational and supervisory abilities and demonstrated commitment to staff
mentoring and professional development.

Proven record of identifying, integrating and utilizing new and emerging technologies in
admissions and recruitment.

Superior analytical skills to synthesize complex admissions trends and statistics, translate
those into powerful strategy and communicate the strategy effectively.

Appreciation for the arts and art and design education; an understanding of the
transformative power of art and design in modern society and the importance of quality
arts instruction at the college level, inclusive of issues of diversity and social justice.

Superior verbal and written communication skills; capacity and agility in promoting and
advancing the image of the College to a broad array of audiences both internally and
externally, including current and prospective students, parents, faculty, partner institutions,
admissions colleagues and the community at large.

Talent for branding, marketing and positioning MassArt favorably among its peers in order
to attract a high-quality, diverse student body.

Proven success leading strategic planning and budget management.

Self-motivated and proven ability to succeed in a time of change and flux. Strong work ethic
paired with a flexible, positive attitude. Ability to manage and prioritize multiple tasks and
competing deadlines.

Willingness to travel during recruitment season as well as some weekend and evening work.

Sense of humor paired with an inclusive, collegial approach to completing tasks and
establishing strong team dynamics.
TO APPLY
More information about Massachusetts College of Art and Design may be found at:
www.massart.edu.
Nominations and applications will be reviewed as received. Due to the pace of this search,
candidates are strongly encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Applications including a cover
letter describing your interest and qualifications, your resume (in Word format), salary history and
where you learned of the position should be sent to: massart-da@nonprofitprofessionals.com. In
order to expedite the internal sorting and reviewing process, please type your name (Last, First) as
the only contents in the subject line of your e-mail.
Massachusetts College of Art and Design is an equal opportunity employer. Women and
individuals from minority backgrounds are encouraged to apply.