Emporia State University hosted an open forum on Feb. 29 for students, staff, and faculty to learn more about prospective Director of Admissions candidate Dr. Christopher Lambert. A second candidate had previously been scheduled for the forum but was withdrawn from consideration before the forum.
The Director of Admissions position was posted on Jan. 11 of this year and demands a wide variety of responsibilities: development of a comprehensive recruitment plan, internal organization of the admissions office and staff, and the construction of a pipeline of prospective students incoming to ESU. The position places a premium emphasis on a data-driven approach for admission, likely in light of a severe decrease in enrollment at ESU and a pivot towards stronger data collection as a result of the Kansas Board of Regents’ Academic Portfolio Review in 2022.
While the position recommends qualifications of a master’s degree and five years of experience in the field, Dr. Lambert recently obtained their PhD in Learning and Organizational Change from Baylor University in August of 2024. He is currently serving as VP of Enrollment Management for the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics, a boarding high school. Previously, Dr. Lambert held higher education admission positions at the University of South Carolina-Darla Moore School of Business as its Director of Graduate Admissions for three semesters, and as Director of Enrollment Management Services for the University of South Carolina-Palmetto College for five years.
This has been the first and only open forum hosted for the position to date.