Hess Ltr For Smith
- 1. Phone: 207-834-7500 1-888-TRY-UMFK Fax: 207-834-7503 TDD: 207-834-7466 www.umfk.maine.edu 23 University Drive Fort Kent, ME 04743-1292 June 1, 2011 TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: Bruce L. Smith served as the inaugural Dean of Enrollment Management at the University of Maine at Fort Kent. In that capcity he had a wide range of duties on campus and in the larger University of Maine System. Among his accomplishments were the drafting of the campus¡¯ first Strategic Enrollment Management Plan, including detailed action plans and benchmarks for performance against other Maine public universities and peer universities nationwide (including a series of reporting dashboards). He led the development of several significant policy initiatives designed to enhance the quality of the student body such as a new merit aid program, revisions to conditional acceptance polices, and satisfactory academic progress standards. His policy changes resulted in higher percentages of students pre-registering sooner. Bruce reached out to his staff and engaged them in much collective work which contributed to a culture of continuous quality improvement. Examples of this work include leading the planning for creation of a One-Stop Center for student service, which required extensive succession planning, cross training, and collaborative skill development. His work with Admissions helped develop Strategic Investment Fund initiatives for internet-based marketing and recruitment. Additionally, his outreach to faculty brought them into better engagement with institutional recruitment efforts. Bruce served in several System-level initiatives: the Enrollment Management Council, the marketing campaign, and the Data Warehouse ¨C demanding efforts that required frequent state-wide travel and collaboration with representatives from the six other university campuses. Bruce is a driven, hard working, self-motivated person. He is a person of integrity and conviction. I wish him every success in the future. Sincerely, Wilson G. Hess President A Member of the University of Maine System