2008 Woodie Awards
Video related to this article is available below.Issue date: 1/23/08 Section: News
Openness, outreach trademarks of new dean
While at Columbia, new admit dean Furda broadened app. pool
Alyssa Schwenk
Eric Furda, Penn's recently appointed dean of admissions, was well known at Columbia for his open, receptive personality and his ability to work in a large team, college-admissions counselors and former coworkers say.
Furda's work in Colmbia's undergraduate admissions office - which he led from 1995 to 2004 - focused on increasing the breadth and depth of the university's applicant pool.
Columbia saw a huge rise in applications during Furda's tenure. This was in part due to Furda's efforts to expand the school's name recognition and reputation, Shawn Abbott, a former Columbia admissions officer and current director of undergraduate admissions at Stanford, wrote in an e-mail.
Furda "aggressively expanded Columbia's reach through an extensive print and electronic campaign," Abbott wrote, adding that Furda "didn't take it for granted that every high-school senior in America knew Columbia."
Furda also developed a reputation for transparency with college counselors across the country during his time at Columbia.
"He's very receptive to questions from the secondary-school community," said Alice Cotti, a college counselor currently at the Polytechnic School in Pasadena, Calif. "Some admissions directors want to be behind closed doors and don't want to have those interactions with counselors."
Furda's work in Colmbia's undergraduate admissions office - which he led from 1995 to 2004 - focused on increasing the breadth and depth of the university's applicant pool.
Columbia saw a huge rise in applications during Furda's tenure. This was in part due to Furda's efforts to expand the school's name recognition and reputation, Shawn Abbott, a former Columbia admissions officer and current director of undergraduate admissions at Stanford, wrote in an e-mail.
Furda "aggressively expanded Columbia's reach through an extensive print and electronic campaign," Abbott wrote, adding that Furda "didn't take it for granted that every high-school senior in America knew Columbia."
Furda also developed a reputation for transparency with college counselors across the country during his time at Columbia.
"He's very receptive to questions from the secondary-school community," said Alice Cotti, a college counselor currently at the Polytechnic School in Pasadena, Calif. "Some admissions directors want to be behind closed doors and don't want to have those interactions with counselors."
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John
posted 1/23/08 @ 3:00 PM EST
Let's hope he does the same at Penn and fast. We're the only school without a huge increase in apps this year and that sucks.
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