Since his arrival at Augustana in 2005, Kent has overseen the largest enrollment in the college’s history. He oversees the offices of admissions, financial assistance, and marketing and serves a critical role on the comprehensive retention committee. In the summer of 2012, he served as acting president while the current president was on sabbatical. Other AI contributions: Higher Ed Impact article: Practical Strategies for Partnering with Faculty in Student Recruitment Higher Ed Impact article: 7 Tips for Effectively Managing an Admissions Team Higher Ed Impact article: The Worth Claim: How to “Sell” Your College’s Value Higher Ed Impact article: Getting Performance Appraisals Right in College Admissions
Bernadette’s 20 years in higher education have included responsibility for strategic planning, regional and specialized accreditation, and academic program development and assessment. She has also created and coordinated student success initiatives including new student orientation, the first-year experience, early alert and academic probation programming, and programs for freshmen who are conditionally admitted, exploratory, first in the family in college, lower income, and students of color. Bernadette also has experience with TRiO Student Support Services, the McNair Scholars Program, undergraduate research programs, and honors college programming. Her research focuses on higher education policy-making and strategies for addressing the many challenges facing colleges and universities.
Dr. Margot Saltonstall serves as the Vice President of Student Affairs at Northern Arizona University, overseeing the Dean of Students and her portfolio as well as the four AVP portfolio areas of Campus Health and Recreation Services; Campus Living; Academic Partnerships and Success; and Inclusive Programming and Mentoring. With 20+ year of experience in Enrollment Management and Student Affairs, Margot is honored to lead an incredibly talented, skilled, and thoughtful team dedicated to student success for all students. She holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Cultural Anthropology and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology.
Matthew Sokoloski is responsible for the transition, integration, and retention of international students at the University of Arkansas. Transition responsibilities include coordinating new international student arrival and international orientation. His cultural programming includes conversation club, educational cultural field trips, the Global Greeks program with the Office of Greek Life, and the Cross Cultural Mentor Program. Matthew is also responsible for international student retention, particularly the tracking and retention of first-time freshmen. He oversees the Visiting Student Program, which provides services and opportunities for students wanting to study at the University of Arkansas for one or two semesters as their study abroad experience in the United States. Matthew recently completed his doctoral studies in philosophy. He is the co-founder and current co-chair of the International Student Orientation Network for NODA.
With more than thirty years of higher education experience and having visited more than fifty campuses in the U.S. and Europe, Dennis has developed an in-depth knowledge of divergent student service models. While at Johnson County Community College, he worked to create service delivery systems designed to maximize the method of delivery, provide information directly to students, and use the latest technology. Throughout his time at JCCC, Dennis provided leadership for a new student experience model, implementation of web-based products, and construction of the new student center containing the Success Center, a model one-stop center visited by more than seventy colleges and universities.
Since beginning his career in higher education in 1982, Larry has served a variety of institutions as director of admissions, dean of admissions and financial aid, and vice president for enrollment management and strategic planning. He has written articles and made presentations on topics including strategic planning, admissions, establishing a one-stop student center, business process redesign, and customer service in higher education. He established student one-stop centers at Wilmington College (OH) and Widener University (PA). He received his masters and PhD in religion from Vanderbilt University.
With 30+ years in higher education, Rick has served as a director of financial aid and an enrollment manager at several Pacific Northwest institutions, including Warner Pacific College, the University of Alaska Anchorage, and Southern Oregon University. Drawing upon his experiences as a seasoned administrator, he has presented on retention, financial aid, and developing student-friendly enrollment services at numerous state, regional, and national conferences. He is an expert on facility use and uses technology applications to enhance services. Rick has been successful in using one-stop thinking to improve service to students, stop student run-around, and increase student satisfaction.
With more than twenty years of experience in development with a focus on annual giving and major gifts, Brian has worked for a variety of organizations in the nonprofit arena, including the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, the University of Baltimore, the University of California, San Diego San Diego State University and the University of San Diego. His experience includes extensive work on telemarketing campaigns, direct mail, board management, volunteer solicitations, e-philanthropy, and personal solicitations. Brian has used his extensive experience in statistical data analysis and strategic planning to be an integral team member of capital campaigns ranging in scope from $16 million to $1 billion. A contributor to Currents magazine, he has been a frequent presenter for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and the Annual Giving Professionals Network (AGPN).
In her role at UF, Heather oversees a comprehensive program for the university’s schools and colleges that includes direct marketing and leadership annual giving. Heather has more than fifteen years of experience in annual giving starting as a student caller. Since then, she has served in multiple capacities at Georgetown University, where she managed direct marketing and operations, oversaw university-wide annual giving, and launched a comprehensive loyalty program. She also worked at the fundraising consulting firm Bentz Whaley Flessner as the firm’s annual giving specialist; in this role she partnered with more than forty colleges and universities to grow their programs.
Janine Kraus currently serves as assistant vice chancellor for annual giving programs at Texas Christian University. She is responsible for administering a comprehensive annual giving program that includes mass annual solicitation and marketing via direct mail, phone and other communication methods, as well as personal visits. Janine has worked at TCU since 2006, previously serving as director of annual giving and director of student and young alumni programs. Prior to arriving at TCU, Janine spent over four years with the University of North Texas Alumni Association. Her alumni relations experience included volunteer management, nonprofit operations, membership acquisition, alumni events and student involvement.
