Appointment of David Cotter as Associate Vice President for Graduate Enrollment Management and Career Services
From Dr. Kenneth Lutchen, University Provost and Chief Academic Officer ad interim
I am very pleased to announce the appointment of David Cotter, who most recently served as assistant provost for graduate enrollment and master’s and professional student support, as Boston University’s new associate vice president for graduate enrollment management and career services, effective immediately.
As many of you know, David has worked in our office of Graduate Affairs over the last seven-plus years. In his formal role David built strong relationships with our deans to help grow and sustain the enrollments in our professional masters programs. These programs are important new revenue streams for the institution and they align with BU’s mission to produce holistic graduates prepared to have a positive impact on society. This work has been in concert with our overall success in Graduate Affairs, led by Associate Provost Daniel Kleinman, to advance the caliber and relevance of all of our graduate programs. David has also worked with Enrollment & Student Administration (ENSA) led by Vice President and Associate Provost Christine McGuire. In his new role, David will also oversee the BU Center for Career Development (CCD), working to build a collaborative, all-University center that addresses the needs of professional graduate students, undergraduate students, and alumni. Previously, the CCD had reported to an associate vice president in ENSA who has since retired. Having the CCD report to David will sustain the original organization structure of having it report to an associate vice president. David will work to ensure that the CCD coordinates with career development units throughout schools and colleges and with ENSA to support the career goals of both undergraduate and graduate students across the University.
David’s appointment to this role recognizes the growth and tremendous opportunity we continue to see in graduate professional education at BU. As competition steepens and our strategy evolves around attracting the finest graduate students from across the globe, there is a need for heightened focus at the University level to help each program reach its enrollment goals. In this newly created position, David will work directly with me as well as Vice President and Associate Provost for Academic Budgets & Planning Pat O’Brien to develop and implement recruitment strategies for non-PhD graduate growth across Boston University and work collaboratively with our deans to develop achievable enrollments and tuition revenue targets, including coordinating marketing efforts. He will partner with graduate admissions leaders in our schools and colleges to monitor admissions data, identify trends in graduate enrollment, and share best practices across the University.
David has been a leader in graduate education at BU since 2014, first serving as assistant dean for graduate affairs in the College of Communication before transitioning to the Provost’s Office in 2016. As part of the provost’s team, David has driven strategic enrollment growth, leading initiatives across over 400 graduate and professional programs, overseeing digital and strategic marketing, and increasing enrollments by more than 25 percent. He has forged a collaborative community across BU, fostering a space for graduate enrollment leaders, faculty, and staff to share best practices, analyze trends, and learn from one another.
David is a graduate of Boston College, where he received his master’s in higher education administration. Prior to joining BU in 2014, he helped guide graduate admissions at Brandeis University and Emerson College. David is first and foremost an idea generator and a relationship- and team-builder. In speaking with him about his vision and aspirations for this new role, it was clear from the outset that he brings the energy, background, and exceptional people and organizational skills essential to take our graduate enrollment efforts at BU to the next level.
The creation of this new position marks an adjustment to the portfolios for Graduate Affairs and Enrollment & Student Administration. For Graduate Affairs, this means continued advancement of graduate education excellence through tools like Academic Program Review, nurturing and promoting a quality graduate student experience, and facilitating the approval of innovative new graduate programs. For ENSA, this means continued oversight of undergraduate admissions, financial assistance, the University registrar, student employment, Combined Enrollment Services, the University Service Center, Medical Campus Student Financial Services, the College Advising Corps, Enrollment Services Operations and the SIS Renewal Program, among a sizeable range of responsibilities.
I want to thank Daniel Kleinman and Christine McGuire for their collaboration and cooperation as we conceptualized and built this new opportunity around graduate enrollment and career services. I also hope you’ll join me in congratulating David Cotter on this well-deserved promotion and in wishing him well as he begins this exciting new role and focus for Boston University.