EUGENE, Ore. -- (April 30, 2010) -- An Oregon native who has achieved record success during four years as the vice provost for enrollment management at Indiana University has been selected to fill the same position at the University of Oregon.
Roger J. Thompson will take on the UO job beginning July 1. He will replace Herb Chereck, who is retiring June 30 after a 30-year career at UO. Chereck began at the university in 1980 as associate registrar, was promoted to registrar in 1983 and to associate vice president for enrollment services in 2008. His job title was changed last year to vice provost for enrollment management.
"Roger Thompson has helped Indiana University to achieve some significant milestones," said UO Senior Vice President and Provost James Bean. "Under his watch, enrollment at the Bloomington campus has reached its strategic goals, and the diversity and academic achievement levels of incoming students have improved.
"While University of Oregon enrollment has flourished by any measure in recent years, our hope and expectation is that Roger will integrate our enrollment management functions to enhance and sustain our student diversity, quality and enrollment."
About 22,000 undergraduate and graduate students are currently enrolled at UO, but the university already is planning for total enrollment of 24,000 within a few years. The UO has begun updating and adding to its residence halls, and recently hired a consulting firm to seek comments on campus about plans to modernize and expand the Erb Memorial Union and the Student Recreation Center.
"As a native Oregonian, it is exciting to return to the Pacific Northwest, and specifically the University of Oregon - a great university, steeped in academic excellence," said Thompson, who was born and raised in Hillsboro and has several family members who are UO graduates.
"I look forward to working with colleagues across campus and friends of the university across the state, the West Coast, the country and the world to build an outstanding enrollment management program," Thompson said. "I cannot wait to spend some time in high schools around the state, talking to principals and guidance staffs about the energy and commitment we will bring to recruiting the best and brightest students the state of Oregon offers. I want students in this state to aspire and dream of attending the University of Oregon."
Thompson has served as vice provost for enrollment management at Indiana University since 2006, taking the university's total enrollment from 38,000 to the current 42,000. During that time, the numbers of African American, Hispanic and Asian American students have risen to record levels at IU. The SAT scores of incoming freshmen have gone up by 91 points to an average of 1203 during his tenure. Applications from potential students at Indiana have increased by 18 percent in the past year, and by 35 percent since Thompson took office in Bloomington.
He has also created a need-based financial aid program that was covering the full cost of attendance for 456 students at the start of the current academic year - and has benefitted more than 1,000 students since the program began in 2007 - as well as a separate financial aid program to help students from low- to middle-income families.
"I had no intentions of leaving Indiana University - a great university that has been wonderful to me professionally and was fantastic to our family personally," Thompson said. "But the chance to lead the enrollment efforts of the flagship institution of my home state was simply too good to be true."
Thompson served at the University of Alabama from 1998 to 2006, first as university registrar and for the final three years as associate vice president for enrollment management. At the University of Southern California from 1991 to 1998, he started as a degree progress counselor and rose to the position of associate registrar. He was previously a graduate assistant at the University of Central Missouri, and president of Associated Students Incorporated at California State University-Long Beach.
He received a bachelor's degree in broadcasting from California State University-Long Beach, a master's degree in college student personnel administration from University of Central Missouri and a doctorate in higher education policy and administration from USC.
The search for Chereck's replacement at UO began in November. The search was chaired by Lorraine Davis, who was serving at the time as a special assistant to the president and provost, and has since taken on the role of interim athletic director.
About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is a world-class teaching and research institution and Oregon's flagship public university. The UO is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization made up of the 63 leading public and private research institutions in the United States and Canada. The University of Oregon is one of only two AAU members in the Pacific Northwest.
Media Contact: Joe Mosley, 541-346-3606, jmosley@uoregon.edu
Source: James Bean, UO senior vice president and provost, 541-346-3186, jcbean@uoregon.edu