Saint Mary’s Welcomes Shobi Sivadasan as Vice President for Enrollment Management

Saint Mary’s College President Richard Plumb announced today that Shobi Sivadasan, an accomplished academic leader who has demonstrated success and created measurable change at multiple institutions over the past several years, has been named as Saint Mary’s new Vice President for Enrollment Management.

“Throughout the process of identifying and selecting a new voice to lead our enrollment efforts, Shobi’s experience and background stood out as an ideal fit,” Plumb said. “She has a proven record of increasing enrollment at multiple institutions, and that experience will be critical as we continue to highlight the value of a liberal arts, Lasallian, Catholic education in a world that has been reshaped by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Since October 2019, Sivadasan has served as Vice Provost for Enrollment Management at Missouri University of Science and Technology. Under her direction, first-year applications rose by 24.2 percent and first-year student enrollment rose 7.6 percent in fall of 2021. Last fall’s incoming class includes the school’s highest percentage of incoming female and underrepresented minority students, and under Shobi’s leadership the school has also received a record number of Master’s and PhD applications.

Prior to arriving in Missouri, Sivadasan served as Senior Associate Vice President of Graduate and International Admissions at the University of New Haven. While there, changes she implemented resulted in a 10.3 percent increase in graduate enrollment and a 28 percent increase in MBA applications.

“Shobi brings skills in undergraduate, graduate, and international admissions, the financial aid and registrar functions, and enrollment management systems and operations,” said search Chair and former Associate Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Evette Castillo Clark. “After sitting through her open forum, I was amazed not only with her depth of knowledge in the field, but how data-informed and rich her presentation was. With someone like Shobi at the Enrollment Management helm, there is a sense of direction, inspirational leadership, and a commitment to serving students.”  

Sivadasan has also served as Dean of Graduate Admissions and Enrollment Management at Stevens Institute of Technology where the university saw a 43 percent increase in full-time graduate enrollments during her tenure. She is a graduate of the University of Calicut in Kerala, India where she earned a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Applied Electronics & Instrumentation Engineering, and she received a Master of Engineering degree in Engineering Management from Stevens Institute of Technology. She has also worked in software engineering, software quality assurance, project management and classroom instruction both in the United States and India.

“I am excited to join Saint Mary’s as the Vice President for Enrollment Management”, Sivadasan said. “Saint Mary’s commitment to inclusivity and its quest to make a lasting change in a world that is undergoing difficult times resonate deeply with me. I look forward to building strong partnerships and collaborations with students, faculty, staff and the Moraga community to grow enrollments in this traditional Lasallian setting."

Sivadasan will begin at Saint Mary’s on September 1.