ATU Names C. Blake Bedsole VP of Enrollment Management

C. Blake Bedsole

Arkansas Tech University in Russellville announced Monday the hiring of C. Blake Bedsole as vice president for enrollment management, effective Jan. 2 and contingent upon approval by the ATU Board of Trustees.

Bedsole most recently served as director of admissions and enrollment management at the University of West Alabama. He will visit ATU next month.

He will be the first to hold the newly created position at ATU and have direct responsibility for undergraduate, graduate, transfer, international and online admissions on the university’s campuses in Russellville and Ozark. Recruiting, financial aid, marketing and communication will also report to Bedsole.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in higher education administration from the University of Alabama. Bedsole also earned a doctorate in higher education management from the University of Georgia.

After beginning his career as coordinator of orientation and special events in the University of Alabama’s Office of Enrollment Services & Programs from 2006-07, Bedsole spent the next five years as director of admissions and student services in the Manderson Graduate School of Business at the University of Alabama.

The Manderson Graduate School saw a 59 percent increase in its applicant pool and a 54 percent increase in the master’s of business administration degree class size under his leadership, according to a news release.

Bedsole then served as director of enrollment management at the University of Alabama Graduate School from 2012-15. The school saw record highs in applications, admitted students and enrolled students; the university recruited more Southern Regional Education Board Scholars than any other institution; and the university enrolled the most diverse entering class in the history of its graduate school while he was in that role.

Bedsole accepted his most recent position at the University of West Alabama in July 2015. Annual freshman enrollment at UWA increased by 30 percent, three of its four largest freshman classes over the past 32 years were recruited while he was in the role, and the applicant pool increased by 384 percent as the institution reached its goals for academic quality and diversity.

Bedsole is also a member of the National Association for College Admissions Counseling, the American Association of Collegiate Registrars & Admissions Officers and the National Orientation Directors Association.