In addition to the welcome message from Provost Mattison below, we wanted to share a few fun facts and personal preferences about new Interim Dean of Admission Tim Albers that you won’t find on his LinkedIn page.

1. Hometown? I was born in Pekin, Ill., but moved to Colorado when I was four years old and grew up in Salida, Colo.
2. Coffee, tea, or juice?  COFFEE!!!
3. Summer or winter?  Fall
4. PC or Mac? Android or Apple?  PC and Android! (I have an iPhone because my family members are iPhone folks)
5. Favorite food? Mexican food of any kind and Japanese hibachi
6. Favorite vacation/place you’ve visited?  I loved Hawaii (north shore Oahu) but hated the flight there and back!
7. Dog or cat person (keep in mind Griff II is reading this)? Bulldog, of course
8. Favorite thing about Drake or Des Moines so far? The people! I am impressed by the staff and faculty I’ve met, and I had a chance to watch alums at the Drake Diner after the basketball game on Saturday. I really enjoyed “eavesdropping” on some nearby conversations. The love folks have for Drake is impressive.
9. Early riser or night owl? Night Owl
10. Favorite thing to do in your spare time? I enjoy working on my cars. I also like snowshoeing and going to sporting events
11. Most admired person? Abraham Lincoln. Read the book “Lincoln on Leadership”
12. Best concert or favorite band? Best concert was Willie Nelson; Favorite Band is Boston (am I allowed to admit that?)
13. You have a degree in mining engineering. Why this major? I grew up in the mountains in Colorado and fell in love with the mega-sized equipment that mines use, and the complicated processes to process ores. 

A few words from Tim:

“I am thrilled to join Drake University! As the Interim Dean of Admission, I’m honored and excited to work with the great admissions, financial aid, and marketing teams already in place at Drake. I will work to make sure that the strategies and efforts already in place will continue successfully. I am also thrilled to be part of a university with a strong reputation and with so much to offer to its students, alumni, staff and faculty.”

A welcome message from Provost Mattison

I am writing to formally welcome Tim Albers as Interim Dean of Admission. Tim is filling the role of Annie Kremer who has decided to leave Drake after 6.5 years of dedicated and exemplary service. Tim officially began his duties yesterday and will serve in his role until a permanent Dean of Admission is in place.

Tim has more than 20 years of experience in undergraduate admissions and has a passion for developing and implementing strategic plans that increase enrollment and improve retention. Tim comes to Drake from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota—one of our peer institutions—where he served as Vice Provost for Enrollment Management. In this role, he supervised undergraduate and graduate admissions, financial aid, registrar, student central services, and enrollment operations.

He is no stranger to the enrollment challenges facing traditional campuses across the country. While at Saint Mary’s, Tim chaired the Presidential Enrollment Council to address current enrollment issues and spearheaded several new initiatives around transfer credit programming and retention.

Throughout his career, Tim has demonstrated his commitment to diversity, equity, and access for all. Prior to Saint Mary’s, Tim served at Missouri University of Science and Technology for six years as the Director of Recruitment Marketing and Enrollment Development and then later as the Dean for Enrollment Management. It was here that he focused on improving recruitment programs for diverse student populations. He also chaired the Access2Success Committee, a national organization devoted to increasing equity for underrepresented students.

During his time at Missouri S&T, the University achieved record enrollment institution-wide as well as within the College of Arts Sciences and Business. This included record enrollment of underrepresented student groups. S&T also yielded its largest first-year class in history under Tim’s leadership.

Tim holds a Master of Science in Education with a specialization in Enrollment Management from Capella University and a Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines.

The search for Drake’s next Dean of Admission is underway. We are in the process of convening a search committee of deans, faculty members, senior administrators, staff, and students to partner with us on this critically important search. I will keep you updated as the search progresses.

In the meantime, I am grateful for Tim’s exceptional leadership abilities. He brings a wealth of expertise and experience to Drake and has jumped into the role with enthusiasm and energy. I’m very much looking forward to working with him.

— Sue Mattison, Provost