November 17, 2023

Dear Colleagues,

After a nationwide search, I am pleased to announce that Dawn Medley, EdD, will join Drexel University as senior vice president for Enrollment Management effective January 2, 2024.

As the vice provost for Enrollment Management and Retention at SUNY-Stony Brook University, Dr. Medley led all international and domestic enrollment efforts at the undergraduate and graduate levels. She also served as the chief enrollment and financial aid officer for the institution and was responsible for all incoming student marketing and communications. During her tenure, she realigned aid and scholarship budgets to support Stony Brook’s strategic goals, helped the university increase its diversity profile and serve more Pell-eligible students, and worked with deans to focus recruitment on undersubscribed majors to increase enrollment. As a result, Stony Brook increased applications by 20% for this academic year and welcomed the largest first-year class in its history while also improving selectivity and yield, developing new communications campaigns and building a division of enrollment management focused on student outcomes.

Prior to joining Stony Brook, Dr. Medley served as associate vice president for Enrollment Management at Wayne State University where she expanded recruitment efforts and collaborated with several community-based organizations. During her time at Wayne State, the university was one of 17 sites across the country to secure a Lumina Talent Hub designation for creating environments that attract, retain and cultivate talent-diverse and first-generation college students. She also created the Warrior Way Back program, which serves as a national model for adult re-engagement and debt mitigation. And she established the Heart of Detroit Tuition Pledge program that allows every student in Detroit to apply for a full tuition scholarship.

Dr. Medley has extensive experience in admissions and recruiting. She previously served at the vice-presidential level at St. Andrews University, Warren Wilson College and Forest Institute. She has also served as the chief enrollment officer at the University of Arkansas and enrollment leader at Southeast Missouri State and Missouri S&T. 

In her more than 25 years in higher education, Dr. Medley has helped institutions maximize resources and solve issues in the recruitment cycle across all enrollment management areas. I am confident that she is the ideal leader to continue to grow Drexel’s recruiting efforts as we remain nimble and adaptive to the ever-evolving higher education landscape.

I would like to thank every member of the search committee co-chaired by Megan Weyler, senior vice president and Chief Human Resources Officer, and Vibhas Madan, dean of Drexel’s LeBow College of Business, for putting their time and effort into this process.

I would also like to thank Subir Sahu, senior vice president for Student Success, for serving as interim senior vice president for Enrollment Management with the assistance of Tom Gutman, who served as interim vice president for Enrollment Management; Melissa Pennestri, who oversaw undergraduate admissions; and Angela Montgomery, who oversaw graduate admissions. Their efforts were instrumental in ensuring a seamless transition without any disruption to recruitment activities.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Medley and welcoming her to Drexel.

Sincerely,
John Fry
President