Three finalists have emerged as candidates for Eastern
Michigan University's position of vice president for student
affairs and enrollment management. They are, in order of
their open forums, as follows: Katherine Zatz, vice president,
development, Allpar, LLC, and senior consultant, Toolpack
Consulting, LLC; Michael Laliberte, vice president of student
affairs at Boise State University; and Bernice Lindke,
EMU's interim vice president for student affairs and enrollment
management. A fourth candidate, Wade Robinson, vice chancellor
for academic and student affairs at the University of Nebraska
at Omaha, withdrew his name from consideration early last
week.
Whoever garners the permanent post will oversee the functions
of student affairs and enrollment management. Also, since
January, the division has changed its makeup somewhat,
with the Academic Advising Retention Center, Holman Learning
Center and the Students with Disabilities Office moving
under the purview of Academic Affairs.
Each candidate recently hosted open forums that were well
attended in the Student Center. A breakdown of each forum
and the candidates' credentials are as follows:
Katherine Zatz
Zatz's track record is one of growing enrollment at numerous
institutions, and she indicated she could do the same for
EMU.
"This is a wonderful institution. It has a history and
has a lot of wonderful people who have done a lot of good
things," Zatz said of EMU during her April 2 open forum.
 |
ENROLLMENT GENERATOR: Katherine Zatz,
who
currently runs her own consulting firm, has
helped
increase enrollment at SUNY-Rockland, Hudson
County Community College and the Vaughn College
of Aeronautics. She is one of three candidates
in
the running for EMU's vice president for student
affairs and enrollment management. |
Her specific skill set, her desire to continue in higher
education and her belief that the Ann Arbor area "would
be good" for her consulting business she runs with her
husband are reasons Zatz gave for wanting the EMU position.
As vice president of student development at SUNY-Rockland
from 2004-2006, Zatz was responsible for enrollment management,
financial aid, student activities and athletics, the student
information system, two off-site centers at Haverstraw
and Spring Valley, a variety of federal and state grants,
and academic advising. Within one year at SUNY-Rockland,
she stabilized enrollment after 10 years of decline and
increased new student enrollment.
"They never had an enrollment management plan. They had
a large international student population that dropped off," Zatz
said. "They did not have any sense of a particular market
area."
Within a year, enrollment increased 1.5 percent after
a comprehensive enrollment plan, which included an online
application and registration process, was created and adopted
by the Board of Trustees there.
In her nine years at Hudson County Community College,
Zatz more than doubled enrollment (from 2,900 to a 6,400
headcount) without substantial budget increases. She also
helped to raise student retention rates for new students
from 34 percent in 1997 to 68 percent by 2004. Zatz also
reengineered the financial aid process, which helped lower
the student loan default rate by 17 percent in her first
three years.
"They had 4,000 students there. It should have been 12,000
to 14,000 students," Zatz said of the time she arrived
there. When I started, I was handed a sheet that said you
will raise enrollment 10 percent a year while you're here."
She was able to help raise enrollment 8.8 percent that
first year and retained her job.
Zatz also had enrollment success at the Vaughn College
of Aeronautics at LaGuardia Airport. As dean of student
services from 1993-97, enrollment increased from approximately
900 students to around 1,300.
Zatz has served as president of the New Jersey Deans'
Association for Community Colleges and has been a member
of the Council of Community Colleges Legislative Committee
and a Middle States Association peer evaluator. She currently
is a member of that association's Substantive Change Committee
and is chair of the American Public University System/American
Military University Board of Trustees. The online university
serves approximately 43,000 students in 60 different degree
programs.
Zatz received both her doctorate in higher and adult education,
and a master's degree in student personnel from Columbia
University-Teachers College. She received her bachelor's
degree in political science, history and social science
from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn.
Michael Laliberte
In his capacity as vice president of student affairs at
Boise State the last three years, Laliberte provides direct
supervision to the assistant vice president for student
life, special assistant to the vice president, executive
director of enrollment services, executive director of
university housing, executive director of health, wellness
and counseling; executive director of student recreation
services and the executive director of campus auxiliary
services. He manages more than 400 professional staff in
these areas and oversees budgets totaling nearly $47 million.
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POISED FROM BOISE: Michael Laliberte,
vice
president of student affairs at Boise State
University
the past three years, said he's interested
in coming to
EMU because he sees great potential
for enrollment
growth here. |
For the first 16 months as vice president for student
affairs, Laliberte also served as executive director of
enrollment services. In this role, he worked in partnership
with multiple university divisions to create early intervention
programs, remove obstacles and provide support for first-year
students struggling to continue to their second year. The
result was an increase of nearly 10 percent in first-to-second-year
retention rates. Laliberte also introduced new approaches
and procedures for recruiting, provided services for new
and incoming students, and retained existing students — measures
that resulted in increased overall student enrollment from
2-3.5 percent for each of the past three years.
"Last fall, we had an enrollment of 19,760. When I started
three years ago, it was 17,870," Laliberte said during
his April 6 open forum. "Right now, we are seeing an 11-12
percent increase in applications and a 20-percent increase
in accepted students."
He said Boise State has the highest academic qualifications
in Idaho and the message that university is stressing is
to make Boise State the "school of choice" for state high
school students rather than a second choice to the University
of Idaho.
When asked why he would want to essentially make a lateral
move to EMU, Laliberte responded, "I don't necessarily
see this as a lateral move. I see this as an environment
that has a greater ability of growing than Boise State.
In title, it's a lateral move. But, I see it as more than
that."
On his management style, Laliberte said, "I believe in
always being transparent. What you see is what you get ... I
give people feedback that will help them grow."
He added he is a risk taker if the risk is worth it, encourages
feedback from employees, will go to bat for employees if
needed and said he applies a sense of humor into his workday.
Laliberte previously served as vice chancellor for student
affairs at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where
he served in various positions during seven years there.
While there, he developed the COMPASS (Community of Motivated
Persons Actively Seeking Scholarship) Learning Community
Program. The program is for first-year students with undeclared
majors, in which two or more courses were linked through
a commonly themed syllabus.
Laliberte received his doctorate in educational leadership
in higher education from Johnson & Wales University;
his master's degree in college student development and
counseling from Northeastern University; and his bachelor's
degree in human development, counseling and family studies
from the University of Rhode Island.
Bernice Lindke
Lindke has served as interim vice president for student
affairs and enrollment management since May 2008. She manages
an annual divisional budget of approximately $45.5 million
with approximately 330 administrative, professional and
support staff.
During her 17 years at EMU, Lindke has worked in a number
of capacities including: interim vice president,
student affairs (October 2007-May 2008); interim vice president,
enrollment services (August 2006-May 2007); associate vice
president, enrollment services (June-September 2007 and
September 2005-August 2006); assistant vice president,
enrollment services (September 2003-September 2005); director,
office of financial aid (February 1996-September 2003)
and associate director, office of financial aid (December
1991-February 1996).
"I think the most important, for me, is my ability to
lead in difficult times. We've had difficult times," said
Lindke, who has been placed in three high-level interim
roles since August 2006 to deal with administrative transitions
at EMU. "I've been able to step up to the plate and make
quick decisions."
 |
EMU EXPERIENCE: Bernice Lindke, interim
vice
president for student affairs
and enrollment
management, reviews her 17 years of experience
and leadership at EMU during her open forum.
Lindke
is one of three candidates vying for the
permanent
post. Photo by Anthony
Gattine
|
During her April 8 open forum, Lindke pointed to what
she considers as her other strengths, including: a practical
understanding of the student experience and the importance
of student development and involvement; a comprehensive
knowledge of recruitment and retention; experience in identifying
enrollment trends and taking immediate action to rectify
challenges.
Since becoming interim vice president for student affairs
and enrollment management, Lindke pointed to some of her
accomplishments, including implementing more than 30 initiatives
to improve student enrollment for fall 2008, reorganized
the division to maximize staff and budget resources, and
began planning a comprehensive program to serve students
who are veterans of the armed forces, among others.
Lindke received both her master's degree in public administration
and her bachelor's degree in business administration from
Eastern Michigan University.
"I can tell you that both of these degrees have prepared
me well for what I am today," Lindke said. "I can see the
big picture, but I can get down to the nitty-gritty detail.
When I got into Student Affairs, I acclimated myself to
the business side with auxiliaries."
She stressed that Student Affairs needs to develop into
an "evidence-based culture" to drive strategic decision-making.
Lindke is a member of the National Association of Student
Personnel Administrators, Midwest Association of Student
Financial Aid Administrators, National Association of Student
Financial Aid Administrators and the American Association
of College Registrars and Admissions Officers.
"My experience in education really lends itself well to
the enrollment side," Lindke said. "I get it. I can tell
you I definitely get it."
During the search process, 12 candidates for the post
were originally interviewed by phone. That number was then
pared to six who were invited to campus, said Morell Boone,
dean of the College of Technology, and who headed the search
committee. That list was pared to four when one candidate
withdrew from the process and another took another job.
That list dropped to three when Robinson withdrew.
Boone said all 12 members of the search committee met
April 17 and came up with a recommendation, which was then
forwarded to EMU President Susan Martin.
