Scripps College has announced that their position of Vice President for Enrollment, vacant since July, is to be filled by Victoria Romero.

The position of Vice President for Enrollment at Scripps was vacated by Pat Goldsmith when she was named Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Scripps on July 1.

Romero, who is currently the Dean of Admissions at Claremont McKenna College, will move into her new position on Feb. 7.

“I think Scripps is at a very exciting time…with a fairly new president and the national recognition the college has experienced over the last several years,” she said. “I think continuing to be a part of that is very exciting.”

Romero has been working in CMC’s Department of Admission and Financial Aid for 10 years. She acknowledged that there are many differences between CMC and Scripps, and that each has a distinctive style and mission.

According to the Scripps College website, the Vice President for Enrollment is involved in, among other things, “vision and strategic direction,” implementing a “marketing plan” to attract high school seniors including those traditionally underrepresented in colleges, training and recruiting Office of Admission staff, supervising the Office of Financial Aid, and serving on the Budget and Planning Committee.

The search committee for the position was chaired by James Manifold, Scripps’ current Treasurer and Vice President of Business Affairs. It also included Scripps Academy Director Kelly Hewitt, Associate Dean of Faculty Thierry Boucquey, Director of Institutional Advancement Mark Figueroa, and Assistant to the President Claire Bridge.

“We were looking for someone who was experienced in admissions, financial aid, and enrollment,” Manifold said.

More than 50 applicants submitted resumes for Scripps’ consideration. Of these, the committee created a short list of six, and then invited three candidates to campus for personal interviews.

According to Manfold, Romero was a top candidate for the position because she has experience working for a small liberal arts college, because she has a liberal arts degree herself, and particularly because she already had in-depth knowledge of the Claremont consortium.

Romero started working in admissions shortly after graduating from Whitman College. She said that although she did not anticipate that she would build a career in the field, she found the work so satisfying that she decided to stay.

“It’s a very rewarding profession, because your education is something nobody can ever take away from you,” she said.

Romero was originally attracted to CMC for, among other things, its place in the consortium, its mission, and its location.

“[The consortium] is so unique compared to the rest of the country,” she said. “[The] bottom line is I liked the mission at CMC, I liked the consortium … and that’s why I’ve been here 10 years.”

Romero said she is “very excited” about taking on her new job at Scripps.

“It’s not just the job description itself … [it’s] all the people I met that I’m going to work with in the Admission Office, the Financial Aid Office, and Scripps Academy,” she said. “They have a lot of energy, they’re very dedicated. I know I’m going to like the people I’m going to work with every day.”

Romero said it is unlikely that she will make any drastic changes this year to how Scripps’ Office of Admissions works, and that she will leave Scripps’ existing system for evaluating applications in place.

However, Romero added that she is interested in reviewing the applications for the class of 2015.

“I’m certainly going to read files. It’s the best way to get to know your community,” she said, adding that she wants to “understand the type of women who look at Scripps [as well as what] the admission staff looks for when they read, because every admission staff is different.”

Romero said she will likely be called upon to play a role in determining the college’s strategic long-term planning, but she added, “I wasn’t hired to come in and fix any problem. My goal is to watch, observe, learn.”

Romero’s appointment will bring one change: the Director and Assistant Director of Scripps College Academy will now report to the Vice President for Enrollment.

Scripps College Academy (SCA) is, according to its website, a “free year-round college-readiness program for high-achieving young women in the greater Los Angeles area” that includes a two-week summer residential program and aims at enabling students “who may lack the resources in their home, school, or community to fully prepare to enroll in a top college or university” to do so.

SCA was recently received the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award and a $10,000 grant, which was presented by Michelle Obama at the White House.

“There’s probably some overlap in terms of the skills that are needed to have a successful academy [and to run an admissions office],” said Romero. “Obviously the Admission Office has a lot of contacts with the community, with high schools, and I think it makes sense to share those contacts and resources.”

However, Romero made clear that the purpose is not to make fundamental changes to how the Academy is run.

“I don’t think the goal is to make the summer academy an admission program,” she said. “The goal is still in terms of reaching the community and having influence and interaction with young women. I think it’s to allow more direct guidance, to help with brainstorming.”