Greg Zaiser to succeed Klopman as VP for Admissions and Financial Planning.
Susan C. Klopman, vice president for admissions and financial planning at Elon University, will retire at the end of the current academic year, concluding a 27-year career at the university. Klopman has held several leadership positions at Elon and has been a member of the senior leadership team for the past 15 years.
Elon President Leo M. Lambert has announced that Greg L. Zaiser, who currently serves as dean of admissions, will be promoted on June 1, 2012, to succeed Klopman as vice president for admissions and financial planning.
“Susan Klopman has built a tremendous legacy of success, creating one of the nation’s finest university admissions offices,” Lambert said. “She has enabled Elon to grow its enrollment, increase the academic qualifications of entering students and attract applications from excellent students from across the country and around the world. Susan has been the architect of undergraduate and graduate admissions strategies that are models for many others in higher education.”
Klopman began her career in 1985 as assistant director in Elon’s Department of Publications and Public Relations, converting the college’s alumni publication from a newsprint tabloid to a magazine. She later became director of foundation and corporate relations in the development office before joining the president’s office in 1993, serving as assistant to President J. Fred Young and the board of trustees.
In 1996, Klopman joined the admissions office as assistant dean, overseeing the application reviews, and annual communications with more than 60,000 prospective students. She was named dean of admissions in 2000 and was promoted to vice president in 2006, leading all of Elon’s undergraduate and graduate enrollment, financial aid and admissions marketing operations.
Klopman has played a key role in developing Elon’s Fellows programs for outstanding students and has led creation of numerous new scholarship programs. In developing a sophisticated admissions strategy under Klopman’s leadership, Elon has seen annual applications for admission grow from 5,600 in 2000 to more than 9,000 in 2011.
The size of the freshman class has increased during that time from 1,140 to 1,400, and Elon’s total enrollment has increased from 3,900 undergraduates to 5,225. In addition, Elon has expanded its graduate admissions operations as well as its programs to recruit international students.
Zaiser will succeed Klopman after more than 21 years as an Elon staff member. He received his undergraduate degree from Elon in 1990 and joined the admissions office as an assistant director and admissions counselor. Zaiser moved to Elon’s advancement office in 1995 as director of reunion giving and assistant director of annual support. Two years later he returned to admissions as director of international admissions. In 1999, Zaiser was named director of graduate admissions, and he was promoted to associate dean in 2000 with an emphasis on recruiting international students.
Zaiser was named director of undergraduate admissions in 2003 and was promoted to dean of admissions in 2006. He is responsible for all undergraduate enrollment operations and manages marketing, recruitment travel by admissions counselors and Elon’s campus visit program.
“Greg’s background as an experienced and highly skilled admissions professional is a tremendous asset for Elon,” Lambert said. “He is well prepared to handle a smooth leadership transition for our admissions operation and he has the full confidence and respect of his staff and colleagues throughout the university.”
Zaiser is a member of several admissions professional groups, including the Southern Association for College Admissions Counseling (SACAC) and the North Carolina ACT Council. In addition to his undergraduate degree, Zaiser has an MBA degree from Elon.
Elon will immediately begin a national search for Zaiser’s successor as dean of admissions.