UB names Lee H. Melvin vice provost for enrollment

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Lee H. Melvin, associate vice provost for enrollment at Cornell University, has been named vice provost for enrollment at the University at Buffalo. The announcement was made today by Charles F. Zukoski, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.

Melvin’s appointment follows a national search.

Zukoski said that Melvin’s credentials and experience stood out among an exceptional group of candidates.

“Lee Melvin distinguished himself as an exceptional and forward-thinking executive in the area of enrollment management,” Zukoski said. “I feel confident that he will lead the design and implementation of a student enrollment program that supports our university-wide ambitions and programmatic offerings. It will be a pleasure to work with him to optimize our enrollment management practices.”

The vice provost for enrollment – a new position at UB – will lead the development, articulation and implementation of an enrollment management strategy, with primary responsibilities that include maintaining academic momentum and moving UB to higher levels of institutional distinction.

UB’s total enrollment is 28,860 – 19,334 undergraduates and 9,526 graduate students.

Melvin comes to UB with 20 years of experience in higher education, all of it in admissions and financial aid, and has managed financial aid budgets of more than $235 million. He has expertise in the use of predictive modeling software to assess financial aid and enrollment management, and also is an expert in guiding strategic marketing, recruitment and yield programs.

As UB’s vice provost for enrollment, Melvin will lead the admissions, financial aid and enrollment processes across both the undergraduate and graduate student sectors, providing direct leadership to undergraduate and graduate admissions, the university registrar, financial aid, student accounts and the student information system (HUB).

Working closely with the Office of International Education, Melvin also will expand further UB’s global leadership in international student diversity. He will convene and provide leadership to the university’s enrollment management working group, which includes participants from a cross section of campus constituencies working to support UB’s enrollment strategies.

A. Scott Weber, senior vice provost for academic affairs, said Melvin would bring energy and focus to increasing the quality and diversity of UB’s undergraduate, graduate and international students while maintaining the university’s commitment to higher education access.

“In Lee Melvin, we have identified an individual who is a collaborative leader with a distinguished record of outstanding professional service and expertise in enrollment management,” Weber said.

At Cornell, Melvin led the offices of Admissions, Financial Aid and Student Employment, and developed successful enrollment models for Cornell’s seven undergraduate admissions offices. Under his leadership, Cornell realized a 10 percent increase in applications, 7 percent increase in diversity applicants, 18 percent increase in international applications, a 3 percent increase in diversity enrollment and a 13-point increase in SAT scores.

In addition, Melvin’s vision to improve internal and external customer service at Cornell resulted in the implementation of online admissions enrollment deposits and the electronic delivery of financial aid awards.

“This is an exciting time to join the University at Buffalo, one of America’s great public universities,” Melvin said. “I am thrilled and humbled by my appointment and look forward to working with communities at UB and the Buffalo-Niagara region on increasing access to higher education and contributing to the momentum of the institution’s ambitious aspirations.”

Prior to Cornell, Melvin held appointments as vice president for enrollment management and director of undergraduate admissions at the University of Connecticut, was associate director of university admissions at Wayne State University in Detroit and was assistant director of admissions at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Melvin serves on multiple national and regional professional advisory boards and committees. He has presented papers at conferences of the National Association of College Admissions Counselors, the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, and the New York State Association of College Admissions Counselors, among others.

Melvin earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from Houston Baptist University in Houston, Texas, and a master’s degree in music from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.