Wittenberg University President Michael L. Frandsen has announced that Maribeth Stevens, assistant vice president for university campus and center enrollment at Saint Leo University in Tampa Bay, Florida, will serve as the institution’s new vice president of enrollment management (VPEM). Stevens is expected to begin her new role on July 1.
"We are excited to welcome Maribeth Stevens to Wittenberg to lead our enrollment management division,” Frandsen said. “Maribeth brings a collaborative spirit, a strong track record of data-informed decision making, and a long-standing commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Her ability to innovate and implement best practices across the enrollment spectrum will also help to position Wittenberg for even greater success in recruitment, retention, and in our overall enrollment strategy."
Responsible for new student enrollment at the Saint Leo University Campus and Education Centers while overseeing the Center for Global Engagement for International Student Services and Study Abroad, Stevens is a strategic thinker with the proven ability to spearhead change, and conceptualize and execute sustainable enrollment policy initiatives in a variety of organizational structures. After joining Saint Leo in 2014 as the associate director of international admissions, Stevens quickly moved up to executive director of the Center for Global Engagement in 2018 before taking on her current position in December 2019.
"I am thrilled to be joining the Wittenberg University community,” Stevens said. “From the moment that I stepped on campus, I was met with the kindness, hospitality, and warmth that are so clearly pillars of the student experience at Wittenberg. The University has a rich history in welcoming students from all backgrounds, and I am excited to share more with students and their families about the positive impact that a Wittenberg education can have on their lives for generations to come. This is undoubtedly a challenging time in higher education with the effects of the global pandemic combined with the rapidly approaching demographic cliff. With Wittenberg’s strong liberal arts foundation and collaborative efforts across campus, I am confident we can face these challenges together as we serve our students."
An experienced enrollment manager and former NCAA Division I student athlete, Stevens currently supervises a team of 41 staff members and 45 student workers within the Division of Strategic Enrollment Management. She is also uniquely equipped with the ability to create, direct, and sustain high-functioning teams with the vision and adaptability needed to confront any challenges or disruptions that arise in the field of enrollment management.
During Stevens’ time at Saint Leo, the university exceeded fall and spring new student enrollment in consecutive cycles, resulting in the largest incoming classes in the institution’s history (2021, 2020, 2019) and a 58 percent increase in enrollment since 2018. From Fall 2018 to Fall 2021, she also helped to increase graduate campus new students from 24 in 2018 to 153 in 2021, and the university’s international student population increased by nearly 89 percent during her tenure from 2014 to 2021. Additionally, she oversaw a successful J-1 visa application to host exchange students and faculty scholars, created strategic value-added marketing and communication outreach strategy for traditional, non-traditional, graduate, and international students, and coordinated the largest on-campus admissions yield event in Saint Leo University history with more than 1,100 individuals in attendance, resulting in 92 percent of student attendees enrolling in the Fall 2021 semester.
As Wittenberg’s new VPEM, Stevens will work closely with the president and senior staff colleagues to craft and implement enrollment strategies designed to accomplish ambitious goals built on the foundation of the University’s strong mission and traditions. She will also strategically and aggressively plan, develop, execute, and assess an enrollment plan for entering students, keeping in mind retention and student success; effectively use data and cutting-edge technology to inform decision-making and improve overall efficiency of enrollment and marketing processes; lead, motivate and empower staff; and champion the recruitment of diverse student populations and educate others on how to support them, among other responsibilities and expectations.
Stevens earned a bachelor’s degree in political science (2011) and a master’s degree in public administration (2014) from Bowling Green State University, where she also worked as an admission counselor responsible for in-state and out-of-state recruitment territories and international admission.
