Colorado State University Names New Vice President of Admissions and Access

Colorado State University officials today named Robin Brown, vice president for enrollment at Willamette University, the new vice president of admissions and access.

Colorado State President Larry Edward Penley announced last fall the creation of the vice president position as part of a university-wide reorganization. All elements of admissions have been streamlined into one area, enabling the university to focus on service and marketing to prospective students, admitted students and parents.

Brown will oversee Admissions, the Registrar, Financial Aid, Enrollment Services, High Ability Student Recruitment and the Center for Educational Access and Outreach. She will begin her new post Aug. 21.

"Robin will help the university balance financial stability with our historic commitment to access and affordability," Penley said. "While we have done reasonably well in student retention and graduation rates over the past decade, this must continue to be an area of high priority for Colorado State – and we need to position ourselves to learn from the experiences of other institutions that have achieved remarkable success in this arena."

The reorganization announced in October emphasizes admissions and access and also strengthens the university’s ability to achieve excellence in the areas of teaching and learning, retention and graduation, outreach and service, and marketing.

Brown will report to Tony Frank, senior vice president and provost.

"We are confident Robin brings the kind of leadership necessary to address the challenges and opportunities facing a major public research university in an increasingly tuition-dependent environment," Frank said. "She will improve our efforts to provide the best services possible to our students, their parents and prospective students."

Before joining Willamette in 2000, Brown served as interim director of undergraduate admission at The Ohio State University and associate director of admissions and orientation at Oregon State University. Prior to that, she served as director of school relations in the Oregon State System of Higher Education.

Under her tenure at Willamette, applications grew 75 percent in the past four years and ethnic diversity increased to 19 percent in 2006 from 11.6 percent in 1999. She also implemented loan programs to improve the affordability of a college education and helped start a college-preparatory program for underserved students in grades 8-12.

Brown has been active in many academic organizations. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the National Association for College Admission Counseling.  

She obtained her bachelor’s degree in education from State University of New York and her master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Oregon.

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