Aviles named associate vice provost, director of admissions

José Aviles, director of admissions at the University of Delaware, has been named associate vice provost and director of admissions at UB.

The announcement was made on Monday by Lee H. Melvin, UB vice provost for enrollment management.

In his new position, Aviles will oversee development of proactive student recruitment initiatives and innovative strategies to promote recognition of the UB brand, as well as increase contacts with prospective students through various media and technologies. He also will be responsible for the strategic development and leadership of domestic undergraduate recruitment programs.

“I am very excited to have José Aviles joining UB,” said A. Scott Weber, senior vice provost for academic affairs. “He has had great success at the University of Delaware and his vision for further elevating UB’s undergraduate admissions was broad-based, stimulating and will be exciting to see implemented.

“We are truly fortunate to have such a nationally recognized figure in the admission community lead UB’s efforts to recruit the very best undergraduates to our institution,” Weber said.  

Melvin agreed.

“To attract an outstanding and talented admissions professional with all the qualities Dr. Aviles will bring to UB clearly shows the momentum behind the power of a flagship university to recruit a national leader in the field of college admissions,” he said. “The work of recruiting, enrolling, retaining and graduating a diverse community of scholars from UB requires a campuswide commitment and visionary leadership in undergraduate admissions, and I believe that in José we have found the candidate to lead these efforts.”

Aviles began his career in 1998 as an admissions counselor at LaSalle University in Philadelphia. He then served as an admissions recruiter at Mercer County Community College in Trenton, New Jersey; assistant dean of admissions at Swarthmore College; assistant director of admissions and assistant director of education opportunity fund/maximizing academic potential (EOF/MAP) at Rowan University; and associate director and director of admissions at Millersville University.

He joined the University of Delaware as director of admissions in 2012. Among the accomplishments achieved by the university under his leadership:

• The second-largest applicant pool in school history.
• The largest incoming freshman class in school history.
• A 44-percent increase in applications from outside the university’s core markets.
• The most diverse applicant pool in school history.
• A 61-percent increase in international applications and 14 percent increase in international enrollment.
• A 21-point increase in SAT scores of resident students.
• The largest and most diverse pool of Honors Program applicants in school history.

Aviles received a bachelor of arts in history in 1997, a master’s degree in higher education administration in 2005 and a doctorate in educational leadership in 2008, all from Rowan University.

He will arrive on campus in May.