2008 Woodie Awards
Video related to this article is available below.Issue date: 7/24/08 Section: News
New dean restructures Admissions Office
Alyssa Schwenk
Although it has only been three weeks since new Dean of Admissions Eric Furda took over, changes are already evident in the Admissions Office.
Furda, who began July 1, appointed two new vice-deans to serve as his seconds-in-command and has "restructured" the department to be more streamlined and efficient, he said.
"Specifically, what I wanted to achieve with a restructuring of the office was ... accountability at each level of the organization," he said, adding that this concern led to his decision to hire Quenby Mott as vice dean and director of admissions and David Phillips as vice dean of admissions and director of operations and management systems. Neither position previously existed.
"The former structure wasn't as efficient as it needs to be in the 21st century, [when offices are] using technology and always remembering the human contact," said Mott, who also started July 1. Phillips will begin his new role in mid-August.
Compared to last year, Furda said, "Every individual is having some type of change to their dossier."
Besides organizational changes, there has been high personnel turnover in the Admissions Office recently. Former Associate Dean of Admissions Bruce Chamberlin's position was "discontinued" in the restructuring, Furda said. About six officers left, most to pursue graduate degrees.
This sort of turnover every few years, according to Furda, is not unusual, because many officers are hired directly from college. Mott said half of those positions have been filled and the office is expecting to fill the remaining positions by mid-August.
And while the organizational structure of the office is the most visible change thus far, admissions consultants said that the biggest changes are yet to come.
"You have to adopt a wait-and-see attitude," said Michele Hernandez, president of Hernandez College Consulting.
"It's fairly normal to reorganize, … [but] suddenly things might be different because the new director has different priorities," she said, pointing out that former dean Lee Stetson's long tenure meant that his personality had a strong influence on the office.
And according to Steve Goodman, another college consultant, the dean's new priorities will only become more pronounced in the coming years.
Because of the steady turnover in admissions, he said, admissions officers whose priorities are in line with the office's new "philosophy" will eventually fill the ranks and change the emphasis of the office.
Some new areas of emphasis, Furda and Mott both said, will be tying in admissions more closely with University President Amy Gutmann's Penn Compact and better integrating demographic data and technology into the admissions process.
According to both Hernandez and Goodman, it will be at least one admissions cycle - from early decision through the waitlists - before the changes will begin to be seen.
Furda, who began July 1, appointed two new vice-deans to serve as his seconds-in-command and has "restructured" the department to be more streamlined and efficient, he said.
"Specifically, what I wanted to achieve with a restructuring of the office was ... accountability at each level of the organization," he said, adding that this concern led to his decision to hire Quenby Mott as vice dean and director of admissions and David Phillips as vice dean of admissions and director of operations and management systems. Neither position previously existed.
"The former structure wasn't as efficient as it needs to be in the 21st century, [when offices are] using technology and always remembering the human contact," said Mott, who also started July 1. Phillips will begin his new role in mid-August.
Compared to last year, Furda said, "Every individual is having some type of change to their dossier."
Besides organizational changes, there has been high personnel turnover in the Admissions Office recently. Former Associate Dean of Admissions Bruce Chamberlin's position was "discontinued" in the restructuring, Furda said. About six officers left, most to pursue graduate degrees.
This sort of turnover every few years, according to Furda, is not unusual, because many officers are hired directly from college. Mott said half of those positions have been filled and the office is expecting to fill the remaining positions by mid-August.
And while the organizational structure of the office is the most visible change thus far, admissions consultants said that the biggest changes are yet to come.
"You have to adopt a wait-and-see attitude," said Michele Hernandez, president of Hernandez College Consulting.
"It's fairly normal to reorganize, … [but] suddenly things might be different because the new director has different priorities," she said, pointing out that former dean Lee Stetson's long tenure meant that his personality had a strong influence on the office.
And according to Steve Goodman, another college consultant, the dean's new priorities will only become more pronounced in the coming years.
Because of the steady turnover in admissions, he said, admissions officers whose priorities are in line with the office's new "philosophy" will eventually fill the ranks and change the emphasis of the office.
Some new areas of emphasis, Furda and Mott both said, will be tying in admissions more closely with University President Amy Gutmann's Penn Compact and better integrating demographic data and technology into the admissions process.
According to both Hernandez and Goodman, it will be at least one admissions cycle - from early decision through the waitlists - before the changes will begin to be seen.
Viewing Comments 1 - 9 of 9
Alum
posted 7/26/08 @ 12:31 AM EST
A lot of buzz words here ... what does it all mean, in plain english?
aura
posted 7/29/08 @ 12:59 PM EST
buzzwords are used to control information flow and to detract from the real reasons behind the necessity of multiple buzzwords. It sounds like the place was a mess. (Continued…)
Former Staff
posted 7/30/08 @ 9:54 AM EST
The "old philosophy" was built around fear, oppression, control and belittlement. And this was post-Stetson! Leadership was not concerned because systems, however antiquated, were in place and would not be messed with during the transition period. (Continued…)
Anon
posted 7/30/08 @ 11:15 AM EST
In the admissions world, everyone knew the penn office was the least well run & the most oppressive - the turn over was atrocious every year losing countless admissions officers, sometimes nearly 50%. (Continued…)
Alum
posted 7/30/08 @ 3:18 PM EST
The Stetson mystery deepens. Whatever else was going on - or not going on - he gets credit for boosting the USNews ranking during his tenure. Of course there are those who say he gamed the system to a fare-thee-well, and maybe this is what tripped him up in the end. (Continued…)
former staff2
posted 7/30/08 @ 4:23 PM EST
Former Staff Person-I'm also former staff, and I completely agree with your comments. We are "survivors". The systems in place in that office were atrocious-everything was hand managed and retyped to look presentable. (Continued…)
Former Staff
posted 7/30/08 @ 4:46 PM EST
Former Staff 2: I can not speak to the Stetson regime and can only comment on the transition period before Furda. However, the transition period was deeply rooted by Stetson's tenure. (Continued…)
old staff
posted 7/31/08 @ 1:23 AM EST
I'm also former staff. I can't speak about the transition year but the important point here is that the current administration is taking corrective measures. (Continued…)
Alum
posted 8/01/08 @ 1:09 PM EST
Was all this why Dean Stetson's head had to roll a year before retirement, or was it something else?
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