SMU’s Wes Waggoner named AVP for Enrollment Management

DALLAS (SMU) – Wes Waggoner, SMU’s dean of admission since 2011, has been named associate vice president for enrollment management in the Office of the Provost, making permanent the interim position he has held since July 1 last year.

Wes Waggoner

“Wes Waggoner is one of the nation’s brightest minds in the areas of marketing to prospective students, student recruitment and ensuring that higher education is financially accessible to students from all socio-economic circumstances,” said SMU Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Steven Currall. “After a rigorous international search, Wes was the ideal leader to take SMU into the future regarding recruitment of an even more diverse, and ever-stronger academic, student body.  I am thrilled to have Wes as a permanent member of our SMU team.”

SMU’s associate vice president for enrollment management oversees the Division of Enrollment Services, which includes the Office of Undergraduate Admission, the Office of Financial Aid, and the Office of the Registrar. Waggoner also will provide guidance for summer school enrollment.

“I look forward to building on the University’s outstanding academic history and bringing the nation’s most talented students to SMU and Dallas,” Waggoner says.

Prior to assuming the interim role Waggoner served as dean of undergraduate admission and executive director of enrollment services at SMU since 2011. During that time SMU reached record levels of selectivity and academic quality for its first year class – an increasingly international group.  In Fall 2015, more than 60 percent of new students came from outside Texas, including 7 percent from outside the United States.

Waggoner previously held admission roles at TCU, the University of Tulsa, Tulane University, Fort Worth Country Day School and the Episcopal School in Baton Rouge, La. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Tulane University and an MBA with a concentration in not-for-profit management from the University of Dallas.

Waggoner is a nationally known leader in the admission profession, having served in leadership roles for the National Association for College Admission Counseling, the Texas Association for College Admission Counseling, and The College Board. 

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SMU is a nationally ranked private university in Dallas founded 100 years ago. Today, SMU enrolls approximately 11,000 students who benefit from the academic opportunities and international reach of seven degree-granting schools.

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