Williams named associate VP for enrollment management and director of scholarships and student aid

Ryan Williams has been appointed associate vice president for enrollment management and director of scholarships and student aid at Syracuse University. The appointment, effective March 5, was announced today by SU Vice President for Enrollment Management Donald Saleh. Williams has most recently served as vice president for enrollment programs and services at the College Board in Reston, Va. Prior to joining the College Board in 2007, he was the director of university financial services at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass.

“We’re pleased to welcome Ryan into this hugely important role within the University,” Saleh says. “What attracted us most to Ryan was the combination of his 25 years’ experience as a higher education administrator in enrollment management/financial aid, and his alignment with the University’s deep commitment to access and success.”

“Ryan Williams is superbly positioned to help us build on SU’s extraordinary traditions of access, opportunity and excellence in our student body,” says SU Chancellor and President Nancy Cantor. “Through his extensive experience at the College Board and at prominent private institutions from Harvard and Boston universities to the University of Rochester and Earlham College, he has cultivated an acute sense of the interplay of national demographic dynamics and campus enrollment goals. We know he’ll make an impact immediately on our already strong team in enrollment management.”

“I have known Don Saleh for many years and have respected and admired his work. He has been a real contributor in enrollment nationally for many years,” says Williams. “Recently having had the chance to meet Chancellor Cantor and Provost Spina, I am so impressed with their vision and how the University and the city have embraced it. Having the opportunity to now work closely with Don and continue the nationally recognized efforts of Scholarship in Action is truly wonderful. This is a great opportunity and I am excited to be a part of Syracuse University.”

While at the College Board, Williams was responsible for strategic leadership and overall management of the Enrollment Division, consisting of the Recruitment and Admission System and the Financial Aid System, which helps colleges and universities identify, recruit, admit, aid and retain students.

At Harvard, he served as the university’s chief student financial services officer, and managed eight finance and business operations offices that included Accounts Receivable, Cash Receipts, ID Services, Student Loans, Student Receivables, University Financial Aid Liaison, Mortgage and Educational Loans, and University Financial Services Customer Service Team.

Previous to that, Williams was the director of financial aid at Boston University and the University of Rochester, respectively. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Earlham College in Richmond, Ind., and a master’s degree in education from the University of Rochester.