New v.p. named at Mount Union

Staff report

ALLIANCE

Michelle Lockhart Sundstrom has been named vice president for enrollment management at the University of Mount Union effective Feb. 1.

President Dick Merriman announced the appointment, which was the result of a national search carried out in partnership with Napier Executive Search of DeLand, Fla.

Sundstrom serves as associate director of client development for Ruffalo Noel Levitz, a higher-education consulting firm in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Before that, she served as director of enrollment management for the school of professional and extended studies at American University in Washington, D.C.; senior strategic enrollment consultant for TWG Plus in Alexandria, Va.; and in increasingly responsible enrollment management positions at both Oklahoma City University in Oklahoma City and Avila University in Kansas City, Mo.

“She has a strong background in enrollment management, and through her work on campuses as a member of enrollment-management teams and her time as a consultant, she brings rich and varied experience to her new role at Mount Union,” Merriman said.

“A significant portion of her career has been spent at United Methodist-affiliated institutions similar to Mount Union, thus she also brings meaningful and transferable insight to the university,” he said.

Sundstrom earned an associate of arts degree from Highland Community College in Highland, Kan., in 2000, a bachelor’s degree in business with an emphasis in marketing from Baker University in Baldwin City, Kan., in 2002, and a master’s degree in higher education administration from the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kan., in 2006.

Active professionally, Sundstrom has been a member of the National Association of College Admission Counseling and involved with local associations including those in New Jersey, New York, Missouri, the Potomac and Chesapeake area and the Great Plains area.

Throughout her career, she has been recognized with the Great Plains Association for College Admission Counseling Rising Star Award and was named to Oklahoma Magazine’s 40 Under 40.

“I am very grateful to the search committee, led by James Thoma, professor of human performance and sport business, and John Frazier, vice president for student affairs and dean of students, for its diligent and careful work in evaluating applicants, recommending finalists and directly connecting with the visiting candidates,” Merriman said.