To help Andover move further towards its goal of attracting “youth from every quarter,” the Admissions Office has created a new Ad Hoc Committee to help examine and discuss the composition of the school community. A key component of the Strategic Plan adopted in 2004 states that the school would continue to “enhance recruitment efforts to attract youth of talent, intelligence and integrity from every quarter.” To act upon this plan, each committee meeting will address a specific topic designed to help the admissions officers determine opportunities to achieve their goals for shaping the student body. Committee members include current PA faculty, Admissions Student Ambassadors, trustees, alumni, and members of the admissions staff. Although all faculty members have been invited to sit in on the meetings, only a few were asked to be members of the committee. Faculty members involved in the committee will serve as interviewers, application readers, and faculty advisors to the Admissions Office. Participants will include Temba Maqubela, Dean of Faculty; Linda Griffith, Dean of Community and Multicultural Development; and Patricia Russell, Chair of the Science Division. According to Jane Fried, Dean of Admissions, the Admissions Office will use this opportunity to engage all facets of the community in the school’s development. Danny Silk ’07, Student Council President, will serve as one of the student representatives on the committee. “I am very pleased that Mrs. Fried has invited four student Andover Ambassadors into the committee, because student composition plays such an important factor in this community’s success. I will be going into the meetings with an open mind, and I look forward to learning what does and what should be considered when selecting a student body,” said Silk. He will be joined on the committee by Student Ambassadors Jen Downing ’08, Nkemdilim Oghedo ’08 and Henry Yin ’07. Jen Downing ’08 commented on the Cmmittee, “Students need more of a voice in the decision-making process. I’m very excited to be a part of this, and I think we’ll be able to make a meaningful difference.” Other Ad Hoc committee members from the Admissions Office will include Susan Mantilla, Associate Dean of Admission and Director of Student of Color Recruitment; Debby Murphy ’86, Senior Associate Dean of Admission; Jim Ventre ’79, Director of Financial Aid and Admissions Operations; and Jill Bouyea, Admissions Counselor. Mrs. Fried has described Andover as a national school with an international constituency. She believes that with the limited resources in the admissions department, the school may need to target other areas of the United States and around the world for recruitment. In the past few years, the Admissions Office has been able to raise the percentage of students on financial aid from just over 36 percent to 41 percent. They have also increased the number of applicants by 11 percent. The Admissions Office hopes that with the addition of this Ad Hoc Committee, those numbers will continue to climb. Last year, PA recieved a record-high 2250 applications. Students were admitted from 38 different states, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and 22 countries. The Admissions Office look to continue to increase socioeconomic diversity on campus each year as $1 million is added to the financial aid budget annually. The Board of Trustees will also award additional funds to the budget as a response to the school’s Strategic Plan. In November, The Phillipian reported on increased efforts by the Admissions Office to reach out to different geographic areas. This past year, Mrs. Fried traveled to India, Hong Kong, and South Africa among many other places to recruit new students. Currently, at least two of the nine Admissions Officers are always on the road interviewing and recruiting potential Andover students. The Committee’s first meeting will be held in the Shuman Admissions Center on Saturday, January 27.
