Saturday, April 6, 2013
Saturday, April 6, 2013

Bryn Mawr faces the loss of a third top administrator in less than a month

Bryn Mawr College has announced the loss of its third top administrator in less than a month.

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Bryn Mawr faces the loss of a third top administrator in less than a month

POSTED: Thursday, April 4, 2013, 5:10 PM

Bryn Mawr College has announced the loss of yet another top administrator - its third in less than a month - in what has become an unusually high turnover in leadership at the women’s college.

Michele Rasmussen, dean of the undergraduate college, has accepted the position of dean of students for the University of Chicago.

Just last week, the college announced that Laurie Koehler, dean of admissions and interim dean of enrollment, was leaving to become senior associate provost for enrollment management at The George Washington University.

Also last month, the college’s board of trustees announced that Bryn Mawr President Jane McAuliffe would step down June 30. Her five-year tenure is the shortest in the selective women college’s history. Neither McAuliffe or the college have elaborated on the reasons for her departure.

It means the college will be faced with replacing a number of high level administrators simultaneously.

There have been other high-profile administrative departures this academic year. Jenny Rickard, chief enrollment and communications officer, left in the fall. Elliott Shore, the chief information officer, also departed in the fall. And Donna Frithsen, who had been serving as a senior fund-raising adviser, left this winter to become associate vice president for advancement for Drexel's College of Medicine.

McAuliffe issued a statement on Rasmussen’s departure: “Bryn Mawr’s faculty and staff are among the best and the brightest in the academic community. While it’s always difficult to lose great people, it’s a true testament to the quality of the work done here. We are grateful for Michele’s contributions to the College and wish her the best on her next chapter. Fortunately, we have a superbly talented team of administrators in place to oversee a smooth transition as we identify the right candidates to fill these positions.”

Rasmussen became dean of the undergraduate college in July 2010. She will depart June 30. The college did not name a replacement.

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About this blog
Susan Snyder has covered education for The Philadelphia Inquirer since she joined the paper in 1998. She reported on the Philadelphia School District for nearly a decade before becoming the Inquirer's higher education reporter. She was co-lead reporter of the Inquirer team that produced the Pulitzer-prize winning "Assault on Learning" series, detailing widespread violence in Philadelphia’s public schools. Snyder previously won regional, state and national reporting awards, including a first place National Headliner award in education writing. She has covered education for almost her entire reporting career. She is a 1985 graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Reach Susan at ssnyder@phillynews.com.

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