Vice President of Strategic Enrollment Management

The University of St. Thomas in Minnesota invites nominations and applications for the position of Vice President of Strategic Enrollment Management (Vice President) to serve as a visionary, forward-thinking, and collaborative leader who will drive innovative strategies to advance the University’s enrollment goals and long-term enrollment success.

Propelled by several years of increasing enrollment, highlighted by the largest cohort of first-year students in St. Thomas’ history in the fall of 2025, this role represents a crucial leadership opportunity to continue the University’s momentum. St. Thomas seeks an enrollment leader who will expand the institution’s reach to prospective students regionally and nationally, while constantly striving to achieve the University’s commitment to create a vibrant and diverse community in which all come together to work for a more just and inclusive society. The next Vice President will be a strong and thoughtful leader with a proven record of success; an entrepreneurial spirit; exceptional analytic, interpersonal, and communication skills; and the enthusiasm to partner with the President, Executive Vice President and Provost, other University leaders, and students as an ambitious plan for St. Thomas’ future is executed. The successful candidate will be a skilled leader with the ability to motivate a dedicated team in Undergraduate Admissions, Graduate Admissions, Financial Aid, Enrollment Management Marketing and Communications, and Enrollment Technology and Analytics. The Vice President will embrace the best use of current and future technology, including the potential to leverage AI in enrollment, in the execution of an enrollment strategy that is cutting-edge, statistically informed, and focused on continuous improvement.

Role of the Vice President of Strategic Enrollment Management
At St. Thomas, there is strong institutional alignment and energy around student recruitment and enrollment. The incoming Vice President of Strategic Enrollment Management will report directly to Executive Vice President and Provost Eddy Rojas, who has made enrollment a top strategic priority for the University. For a talented, driven, and visionary leader, this position presents a compelling opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the University’s future while advancing professionally through the development and execution of innovative enrollment strategies.

The Vice President will sustain a well-defined, targeted, integrated, and aggressive recruitment effort that maintains St. Thomas' commitment to access and enrollment of traditionally underrepresented student populations. Working closely with the President, Executive Vice President and Provost, and Chief Communications Officer, the Vice President will manage the processes for communicating about the strengths of St. Thomas’ academic and student-life programs to prospective students and the external community.

While building institutional support for enrollment and collaborating closely with senior leadership, deans, faculty, and staff will be priorities, the Vice President will also focus on providing exceptional leadership to the enrollment management division. With responsibility for leading a team of approximately 80 staff members in Undergraduate Admissions, Graduate Admissions, Financial Aid, Enrollment Management Marketing and Communications, and Enrollment Technology and Analytics, this is a position for a skilled manager of people and programs. The Vice President will cultivate a team culture defined by clear expectations, creativity, and energy with a strong focus on results. The new leader will have responsibility for an operating budget of $1.8M and a financial aid budget of approximately $165M.

In addition, the Vice President of Strategic Enrollment Management will:

• Authentically embrace and promote the mission of the University.
• Continue the development and implementation of the University’s strategic enrollment plan to meet the University’s enrollment goals.
• Establish strategic direction, priorities, and goals for the overall unit and for each office within the unit; use data and analytical expertise to make proposals and decisions; and link budgets and expenditures to measurable outcomes while seeking both standard and creative ways to achieve enrollment goals.
• Work closely with the President, Executive Vice President and Provost, and Chief Financial Officer to optimize financial aid, pricing, and the leveraging of institutional resources to recruit and retain students and manage the discount rate and net tuition revenue.
• Work closely with the Marketing, Insights and Communication (MIC) team on market assessment and segmentation, brand promotion and expressing St. Thomas’ value proposition to incoming student audiences.
• Further a sophisticated technical operation that embraces the best use of current and new technology, including AI, and empowers the enrollment management team on an on-going basis to assess and refine the strategy and tactics needed to achieve enrollment objectives.
• Provide regular reports, data analyses, and evaluation tools to the President, Executive Vice President and Provost, the colleges and schools, and other designated persons/units on campus.
• Lead a transparent and forward-looking budgeting process for the enrollment area that aims high, projects clear outcomes for expenditures, and evaluates achievements in the context of cost effectiveness.
• Advance a proactive plan to build strong partnerships with external constituents and key stakeholders, including members of the high school-counseling community across the country and the world, to better understand and communicate the University’s distinctive culture, academic programs and quality of student life; engage an eager and committed alumni base in the recruitment of students.

The full Leadership Profile can be viewed here:

Vice President of Strategic Enrollment Management | WittKieffer

Opportunities and Expectations for Leadership:

• Technology, Data Analytics, and AI Integration
• Strategic Enrollment and Financial Aid Optimization
• Expand Geographic Reach
• International Recruitment Strategy
• Graduate Enrollment Growth and Program Innovation
• Relationship Development

Professional Qualifications and Personal Qualities:

The University of St. Thomas seeks candidates with a proven track record of impactful and sustained leadership in enrollment management within higher education. The ideal candidate will bring strategic ambition and a results-oriented mindset to achieving enrollment goals, while also embodying the compassion, student-centered approach, and deep commitment to access that reflect the University’s Catholic mission and values. In addition, the new leader will possess:

• Proven effectiveness and expertise in enrollment management
• Vision and leadership
• Adaptable and comfortable with change
• Innovative thinker and change agent
• Commitment to collaboration
• Strong analytical capacity
• Passion for leading
• Mission alignment

Procedure for Candidacy
All applications, nominations, and inquiries are invited. Applications should include, as separate documents, a CV or resume, and a letter of interest addressing the themes in this profile.

WittKieffer is assisting the University of St. Thomas in this search. Review of applicant materials has begun; for fullest consideration, candidate materials should be received by January 19, 2026, via the email below.

Applications, nominations, and inquiries can be directed to:
Amy Crutchfield, Rob Springall, and Randi Miller StThomasVPSEM@wittkieffer.com 

Salary Range: $275,000-$325,000.

The University of St. Thomas has provided a salary range that represents its good faith estimate of what the University may pay for the position at the time of posting. The specific salary offered will be determined based on factors such as the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget, internal salary equity considerations, and available market information.

The University of St. Thomas offers a competitive and comprehensive benefits program, which includes:

• Tuition Remission for employees, spouses, and dependents
• Generous Retirement Contributions to support your future
• Comprehensive Health Coverage including medical, dental, and vision
• Fully Paid Insurance: disability, life, and AD&D
• Paid Parental Leave to support growing families

The University of St. Thomas embraces diversity, inclusion, and equality for all. Our convictions of dignity, diversity and personal attention call us to embody and champion a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment. We welcome applicants of diverse races, ethnicities, geographic origins, gender identities, ages, socioeconomic backgrounds, sexual orientations, religions, work experience, physical and intellectual abilities, and financial means. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills.