Calvin News

Calvin College president Michael Le Roy has appointed Lauren Jensen as the institution’s next vice president for enrollment strategy. Le Roy was advised by a nine-member search committee, which included representatives from the college’s faculty, administration, and staff. Jensen, a 2007 alumna, was chosen for the position following a rigorous six-month national search.

Jensen assumes the vice-presidential role on March 1, 2019. She has served her alma mater since 2015 as its director of institutional effectiveness and analytics, and, since 2018, as its interim director of admissions.

“Lauren brings an enthusiastic commitment to Reformed Christian thought and expression and to the college’s diversity and inclusion goals,” said Le Roy. “She has demonstrated the ability to tackle challenging problems and to win the trust of the people she leads.”

During her tenure at Calvin, Jensen has initiated strategic projects that have helped the college improve retention, stabilize its discount rate, and advance its vision for 2030. In her new role, she’s excited to strengthen partnerships across the campus and around the world in order to bolster current markets and develop new ones. Her goal is to promote the excellence of a Calvin education and further the institution’s mission.

“I am humbled at the amazing ways Calvin’s mission is lived out every day.  Getting to see and share the stories of how our students, faculty, staff, and alumni bring their gifts and talents to light, as they live wholeheartedly for the renewal of God’s world, is such an honor,” said Jensen.  “There are so many individual and community stories of big things happening because of Calvin’s mission.  These motivate me in my every day work as I strive to be my best, sharpen the skills God has given me, and serve Calvin by leading us well into our future.”

Prior to Calvin, Jensen served as director of planning and effectiveness and manager of planning, metrics, and analytics at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia. In these capacities she had primary responsibility for planning and university-wide market research to support recruitment and enrollment growth.

Le Roy is confident that Jensen’s previous experience will serve Calvin well as it faces challenges common to much of higher education.

“Enrollment challenges aren’t unique to Calvin and can’t be solved by the enrollment division alone. These complex challenges require a much more systemic understanding and integrated strategy than ever before,” said Jensen. “As a systems-thinker and strategist, my experiences working cross-divisionally to solve big problems, my prior work in growth strategies during times of declining resources, and my experiences with data and analytics all apply well to Calvin’s enrollment context.”

Final on-campus interviews allowed the search committee to receive further insight and feedback from students, faculty, and enrollment management staff. The national search included more than 60 nominations and resulted in a diverse and highly qualified pool of 110 applicants from around the nation.

The search process began back in July 2018, following longtime vice president for enrollment management Russ Bloem announcing his intention to retire in 2019. Bloem served the college in this leadership role for more than a decade and will officially retire on March 31, 2019.