Academic Vice President Orin Grossman has announced that Judith M. Dobai, former Director of Undergraduate Admission at Fairfield, will return as Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management, filling the position left vacant last summer with the departure of Edwin Wilkes.

Dobai, who has been serving as Vice President for Enrollment and Marketing at Regis College, will begin her new position the end of May.

In making the announcement Dr. Grossman said, "I am delighted that Judy Dobai will be returning to Fairfield to lead our Enrollment Management team. She brings a wealth of experience, solid judgment, and a collaborative spirit to the enterprise, and I believe Fairfield will greatly prosper from her energy and creativity."

Dobai came to Fairfield in 1997 as Associate Director of Admission after serving as Assistant Director of Admission at Mount Holyoke College for three years. In the summer of 2000 she was named Acting Director of Admission and then, effective July 1, 2001, was appointed Director of Undergraduate Admission.

During her tenure at Fairfield, she managed a team of 17 full-time and four part-time staff, setting and achieving recruitment goals that included an admission rate under 50 percent, a rate of selectivity enjoyed by only 8% of four-year higher education institutions. She established standards for processing and evaluating 7800 admission candidates yearly and conducted extensive data analysis using SCT Banner and Access to plan and monitor both annual and long-term recruitment strategies.

In accepting her new position, Dobai said, "Fairfield is an outstanding university, one that is remarkably committed to its Jesuit mission and the education of the whole student. I am honored to have the opportunity to return to Fairfield to work with the deans and the enrollment group in pursuit of these ideals."

Dobai is a member of the National Committee on Marketing and Technology for the National Association for College Admission Counseling and a member of the Regional Governing Board for the New England Association for College Admission Counseling. She also is a member of the National Catholic College Association and The College Board. From 2000 to 2003, she served on the Council of Jesuit Admission Directors.

A graduate of Millikin University in Decatur, Ill., Dobai received a master's degree in education and higher education administration from the University of Connecticut in 1991.

Prior to Mount Holyoke, she served as a senior assistant director at New York University from 1991 to 1994, a period when that university experienced a 45 percent increase in undergraduate applications.

Posted On: 05-05-2004 10:05 AM

Volume: 36 Number: 277