SUNY New Paltz appoints new vice president for enrollment management

SUNY New Paltz is pleased to announce the appointment of Jeffrey D. Gant, director of undergraduate admissions at Montclair State University in New Jersey, as the new vice president for enrollment management, effective Jan. 1, 2021. Gant will succeed L. David Eaton, who will retire at the end of December 2020 after a 40-year career at the College.

“Mr. Gant’s experience, career trajectory, strengths, and values resonated strongly with the search committee, the campus community and college leadership,” said President Donald P. Christian. “We look forward to benefitting from his proven creativity and successful innovative projects, his data-driven and outcome-focused decision making, his enthusiasm and positive energy, his moving expression of the value of a liberal arts education in his life and career, and his ability to connect, collaborate with and lead others.”

As vice president for enrollment management at SUNY New Paltz, Gant will supervise the 76-member enrollment management division, with eight departments including Freshman and International Undergraduate Admissions, Transfer Admissions, Financial Aid, Records & Registration, Student Accounts, the Center for Student Success (which includes Academic Advising), the Scholars Mentorship Program and the Office of Veteran & Military Services.

Gant will also serve as chief enrollment officer for the College, responsible for all aspects of the enrollment process from recruitment and enrollment to revenue collection and certification for degree conferral.

Reporting to the President, Gant will serve on the President’s Cabinet and will collaborate with others to achieve divisional and institutional goals and advance our diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. He will fulfill a key role in college-wide matters (including strategic planning), participate in system-wide enrollment initiatives and planning, represent the College to appropriate external bodies, and perform other duties assigned by the President.

“I wish to thank President Christian, the search committee and the campus community — not only for selecting me as the next vice president for enrollment management, but for fostering such a welcoming environment and exciting opportunity,” said Gant. “Truly, I am thrilled to be continuing my career at SUNY New Paltz. I look forward to working with and learning from the many talented folks on campus.”

Since 2014, Gant has served as the director of undergraduate admissions at Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey, which has a diverse student enrollment of more than 21,000 undergraduate and graduate students and is designated a Hispanic-serving institution. Montclair State has an undergraduate student population that is 29% Hispanic and 13% Black.

Previously, he served as assistant dean for enrollment coordination & advising in the College of Humanities & Social Sciences at Montclair State, where he was responsible for all levels of enrollment management for that college’s undergraduate enrollment of 4,500-plus students. He also held positions in communication and marketing and admissions counseling at the University.

Gant earned a bachelor’s degree in French translation and a master’s degree in French studies at Montclair State and has completed coursework toward an Ed.D. in higher education administration at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.