“A good fit” is how University President Pat Long and Dean of Students Cassy Bailey are describing a candidate for the vice president of enrollment management and financial aid position.

Mark Bandre, a 1989 Baker graduate who works at Hendrix College in Conway, Ark., visited campus Feb. 22 for an interview.

“I think the overall visit went very well,” Long said. “We’re still getting feedback from people who met with him … I’d like to decide what our direction is by the end of the week.”

Bandre visited campus last fall do some consulting for the university and wrote a “wonderful report,” Long, who has known Bandre for years, said. When the position in enrollment management opened up, Bandre was one of the first people Long thought of.

When Bailey, who worked with Bandre at Hendrix, heard he would be back on campus interviewing for the position, she thought he was “the perfect choice.”

“Mark has an amazing background and strength in the area of enrollment management and financial aid,” Bailey said. “He and his wife are both alums, which I think is very helpful in understanding the university and making those connections. I would say that Mark is incredibly respected throughout the field … so we would definitely be getting a winner.”

Bandre said he was honored to be considered.

“I’ll see what happens as the process works through, but it’s always exciting to be considered,” he said.

Long would like to have someone in the position by July 1 at the latest.<br/>Long also wants to make sure this person has a university focus that includes all four of Baker's schools.Long also wants to make sure this person has a university focus that includes all four of Baker's schools.
Long also wants to make sure this person has a university focus that includes all four of Baker’s schools.

“There’s no doubt that for the first year or so, this position will need to be focused (on the College of Arts and Sciences) because there are some great opportunities for change that we have right now or that we’re going to have to make right,” she said.

Long referred to enrollment management as an art and science and said she wants someone who knows how to combine that along with financial aid to attract students to Baker.

“I’m looking for someone who is a good leader, who people will want to follow and be a part of that person’s team,” she said. “I’m looking for integrity, obviously, someone who has the ability to see Baker as a whole; somebody that we all want to work with.”

Bailey said the feedback she had received from students who had the opportunity to meet with Bandre was positive and that they enjoyed meeting with him and his wife.

Long said if Bandre did end up at Baker, his wife might also be added to the faculty in the Graduate School of Education.

"She's terrific," Long said. "They're great individuals and so we would be fortunate, whether it's now or somewhere along the way, to have the Bandres back to Baker."<br/>