College President Sheila Bair today announced that Daniel Forster, whose work at Simmons College has helped the all-women’s, liberal arts school thrive and grow in a challenging higher-education environment, will become Vice President of Enrollment Management at Washington College.

“Our enrollment and admissions team has just completed an extremely successful season, enrolling one of the most diverse and academically strong classes in our College’s history,” says President Bair. “I am impressed with the depth of Dan’s experience in both enrollment and financial aid, as well as his commitment to increasing diversity in the student body, and his thorough understanding of the challenges facing small liberal arts colleges. I am confident that Dan will continue to lead our enrollment team and Washington College to even greater successes.

“We all owe Cindy Childs deep gratitude for serving as the interim vice president of enrollment pending completion of this search. Due to her leadership and professionalism, our enrollment team didn’t miss a beat in bringing in the outstanding class of 2020,” President Bair says. “I’d also like to thank the search committee for its unanimous recommendation. The committee’s members devoted many hours to this search and this decision.”

Led by Bill Harvey P’10 from the Board of Visitors and Governors, the search team was comprised of Dean Emily Chamlee-Wright; Mark Hampton, then vice president of finance and administration; Nathaniel Schwartz, assistant professor of mathematics; SGA President Taylor Frey ’17; and Joseph Holt, interim vice president of finance and administration.

Most recently, Forster has been assistant vice president of enrollment management for Simmons College since 2013. Under his leadership, the women’s college just recruited its largest, most diverse class in its history. Previously, he was director of student financial services for the Boston-based school. Before his tenure at Simmons, Forster worked for Sallie Mae as a higher education sales executive, responsible for clients and services in the Northeast, after coming off of two years as director of financial aid for Wheelock College in Boston. He started his career at Westfield State University in Westfield, Mass., where he earned a master’s degree in education and eventually became the assistant director of student administrative services. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and history from UMass Amherst.

Forster says he’s particularly excited about Washington College’s new initiatives toward college affordability, including Dam the Debt and George’s Brigade, citing the creative thinking and meaningful financial commitment to the new programs as vital in attending to the core issue of affordability in higher education both nationally and at WC.