Dear Campus Community,

I am delighted to share the news that Laurie Koehler will be joining the college’s senior leadership team as our Vice President for Marketing and Enrollment Strategy. Laurie’s first day on campus will be Wednesday, August 7.
 
Laurie is coming to us from George Washington University, where she currently serves as Senior Vice Provost for Enrollment and the Student Experience. In addition to her six years at GW—where she’s also held the positions of Vice Provost for Enrollment Management and Retention and Senior Associate Provost for Enrollment Management—Laurie’s leadership includes positions at Bryn Mawr, Cornell University, Miami University of Ohio, and the University of Virginia. She also served on the board of the Common Application, a non-profit membership and college access organization that serves more than 1 million students—a third of whom are first-generation—applying to its nearly 900 member colleges and universities each year.

Laurie brings to our community a wide breadth of experiences that align so powerfully with the dynamic, unique portfolio of this new vice president role, which intentionally acknowledges and strengthens the deep integration between our marketing and enrollment efforts.
 
Laurie’s experience in higher education has showcased her deeply collaborative and student-centered approach and is global in scope, her work encompassing the missions of elite liberal arts colleges, public institutions, and international universities. She is energized by challenge, and encourages innovation that doesn’t shy away from boldly rethinking received wisdom to develop responsive, nimble strategy. I encourage you to read more about Laurie’s career and accomplishments in our news story.
 
I want to offer my sincere appreciation to the many members of our community who were instrumental in driving this search and who generously offered their time and expertise throughout this process. Linda Petrosino, dean of the School of Health Sciences and Human Performance, and Jeane Copenhaver-Johnson, associate professor and chair of the Department of Education, did an amazing job as search committee co-chairs. The members of our search committee—professor Peter Johanns, staff members Benjamin Costello and Erienne Roberts, and new alumna Alyse Harris ’19—made thoughtful and important contributions to our efforts to vet such a talented pool of candidates. The insightful feedback and boots-on-the-ground thinking offered by our enrollment, marketing and creative teams was indispensable, and spanned the creation of the leadership portfolio through the interview process. There were many more constituents on our campus whose contributions led to a successful search. My deepest thanks to all of you.
 
Finally, I want to separately call out the incredible work of Nicole Eversley Bradwell, who has served simultaneously as interim Vice President for Enrollment Management and Director of Admission since January. I am endlessly grateful for Nicole’s willingness to offer her profound professional expertise and deep institutional knowledge as she stepped up to serve this institution, our students, and their families. Please join me in thanking Nicole for her amazing work.
 
At the outset of this process, I knew that our search for Vice President for Marketing and Enrollment Strategy was ambitious, and that we were looking for a unique, experienced leader with a wide array of expertise who would fully embrace the challenges that Ithaca College faces and activate their talents at a critical time in the evolution of this college. Laurie is that leader, and I hope you will join me in welcoming her to our campus and in welcoming her and her family to our community.
 
All my best,
 
Shirley M. Collado
President