Perry Robinson, Denison University’s longtime vice president and director of admissions, has announced that he will be leaving higher education and the college, effective June 30, 2015.
Robinson arrived at Denison in 1988 as associate director of admissions and was named as acting director of admissions in July of 1994, before being appointed as director in January of 1995. In 2003, Robinson was named as a vice president at Denison in addition to his position as director of admissions.
Under Robinson’s direction over the last 21 years, the number of applicants to Denison has more than doubled to 6,100. In addition, mean SAT scores of incoming first-years have increased by more than 200 points to nearly 1,300. Also in that time, Denison’s acceptance rate has been cut nearly in half. Ethnic diversity has more than tripled, and multicultural students now comprise more than 36 percent of the incoming student class. First-generation college students have more than quadrupled at Denison, and Pell Grant recipients have nearly doubled, with both groups making up roughly 20 percent of the incoming class now.
“I want to thank Perry for the countless significant contributions he has made to the college during his remarkable career here,” said Denison President Adam Weinberg. “Among his many traits, I most admire Perry for his deep commitment to students and to recruiting students in an ethical and transparent way. He has lived our values as the Director of Admissions. His expertise, advice and leadership will be sorely missed by all of us at Denison and in Granville, and we wish Perry and Sarah only the best as they move home for the next chapter of their lives.”
Among his many accomplishments, Robinson has gathered and retained one of the most respected teams of enrollment professionals in higher education. Together, they have had a profoundly positive effect on the profile of Denison’s student body. Denison students today are the most academically accomplished in the college’s 184-year history. Equally important, though, under Robinson’s leadership, the student body has become Denison’s most diverse based on every conceivable measure, including race, ethnicity, culture, socioeconomic background, politics, religion and more. All of this has helped to raise and fortify Denison’s position as a leader among the nation’s top liberal arts colleges.
Reflecting on his career, Robinson said, “Enrolling a first-year class takes an entire college community, and members of this community have always been ready to contribute their professional and personal time toward that effort. This is unique within the enterprise of higher education, and it is because of that commitment both in and outside of Beth Eden that we have hit our enrollment target almost every year. We owe that kind of unparalleled success to the entire Denison family.”
Robinson and his wife, Sarah, have made a personal decision to move back to Wisconsin, where Sarah’s parents live. In addition, he will have the opportunity to work directly with college-bound teens in his new role at University School of Milwaukee.