Hitting the Ground Running

New dean of admissions and financial aid brings impressive track record

August 26, 2008

Stephanie Balmer, Dickinson’s new dean of admissions and financial aid.

Stephanie Balmer joined Dickinson College less than two months ago but talks about it with the authority and comfort level of someone who has been here a decade.

“Let me just say I did research on the merits of Dickinson,” Balmer, the new dean of admissions and financial aid, said with a laugh.

Balmer’s innate and exhaustive inquisitiveness, coupled with her experience in higher education and marketing, has enabled her to literally hit the ground running after a successful career at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Ga., where she was associate vice president for enrollment and dean of admission.

Balmer and her husband Lauren, a national brand manager for Choice Hotels, are avid runners, golfers and fans of Atlanta’s professional sports teams, including the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers, whom they saw frequently as season-ticket holders, and the Atlanta Braves.

The Balmers and their 6-year-old daughter Isabel moved to Carlisle from Atlanta. Balmer doesn’t miss the humidity or 30-minute commute, but, after several jogs along Carlisle’s flat terrain, she does long for a hill or two on which to run. As for the internal and external admissions hurdles, she already has begun navigating those.

Working with David Frohman, who in July was named director of volunteer programs for the Office of Admissions, Balmer said one of her goals is to expand the college’s reach through the use of alumni volunteers as “messengers of what’s distinctive about Dickinson.”

It’s not a new message, and in the past it has been conveyed though various means, including college fairs at high schools, receptions in the homes and communities of alumni and one-on-one interviews with prospective students.

Centralized mission

“We are excited about centralizing this important outreach initiative,” Balmer said. “Where it had been decentralized among our admissions officers and their responsibilities for a particular market, it’s now centralized under Dave’s leadership. There is such possibility for Dickinson as we expand our New England model nationally given the level of enthusiasm and engagement our alumni and parent volunteers contribute to positioning Dickinson.”

Balmer, whose inquiring nature is matched by her modesty, prefers not to talk about her own leadership skills and job performance. Her record at Agnes Scott, however, speaks for itself. During the last five years there, she oversaw a 104 percent increase in student applications, a 26 point decrease in the acceptance rate and a 40 percent gain in average SAT scores—while simultaneously improving the racial, ethnic and geographic diversity of the student body.

Before joining Agnes Scott in 1991 as an assistant director of admission, Balmer, who was born in Illinois, worked for a year and a half as an admission counselor and assistant director of orientation in the office of school relations at Murray State University in Kentucky. She earned an M.B.A. at Mercer University’s Stetson School of Business & Economics and a bachelor’s degree in political science at Murray State University. Last year she completed a certificate program at the Institute for Educational Management (IEM) at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education.

‘Coup for Dickinson’

“It was a real coup for Dickinson to recruit Stephanie to our community,” said Robert J. Massa, vice president for enrollment and college relations. “She is a highly respected admissions professional nationally, and her contacts throughout the country, particularly in the South, will benefit Dickinson greatly. In addition, she is extremely knowledgeable about the challenges we face in the coming years and will lead our admissions efforts with confidence and style.”

The South, indeed, is one of the target areas for Dickinson as it continues to expand its footprint beyond its stronghold in the Northeast. Specifically, the college is working to make significant inroads in student recruitment in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Denver, Houston, Atlanta, Charlotte, Durham/Raleigh/Chapel Hill and Miami.

“These are growth markets given the expected increases over the next 10 years in both college-age and college-matriculating children,” Balmer said. “It is incumbent upon Dickinson to continue to be visible and to establish a firm footprint in these markets prior to this major shift,” a shift that is projected to gain traction beginning next year.

Through the use of technology, marketing and relationships, Balmer and her team aren’t waiting until next year to get started.

“Our work is viral and organic, because you recognize that every market is not built the same. The attitudes, opinions and behaviors tied to choosing a college really vary from region to region,” she said, “and we will use research in a powerful way to determine how we resource each of these markets of interest.”

Balmer said she grew increasingly curious about making the move after visiting the campus last winter and meeting with prospective colleagues.

‘A vibrant place’

“I really loved the spirit and the energy of [Dickinson],” she said. “It’s a vibrant place. People care deeply about the work that happens here and care deeply about the students for whom we are responsible, and that really spoke to me. I’m really passionate about the liberal arts, the ideal of a global campus and the responsibility of developing a global and environmental sensibility.”

Balmer was attracted to that development of a global sensibility and to the other four elements of the Dickinson Dimensions: engage the world, seek connections, practice civility and strive for accountability. She was impressed with how those modern-day dimensions, which serve as a blueprint for an education at Dickinson, dovetail with college founder Benjamin Rush’s vision. And she was drawn to the historic significance of Dickinson—225 years ago it became the first college chartered in the newly recognized nation.

“So many liberal-arts colleges are struggling with their brand identity and distinctiveness,” she said. “I believe Dickinson is very confident, yet aspirant in its thinking. The Dickinson Dimensions—the idea that if in fact you invest in this education, you will come to realize that these five dimensions will really serve as the lifelong foundation of your education—are such a powerful value proposition. I am honored to become one of the many storytellers involved in this important work for the college.”