Arlene Wesley Cash, Vice President for Enrollment Management, Spelman College
Arlene Wesley Cash was invited to be Spelman College’s inaugural Vice President for Enrollment Management in July 2003, where she currently leads the college’s efforts in recruitment, retention and outcomes through the offices of admission, orientation services, student financial services, continuing education, career planning and development and the office of the registrar. She accepted this position after serving as the Dean of Enrollment at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, for four years.
Prior to her work in Arkansas, Cash was the Associate Dean of Enrollment and Director of Admissions at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, the Associate Director of Admissions at Boston University, the Associate Dean of Admissions at Brandeis University, and the Assistant Dean for Graduate Recruitment at Kent State University. During her 30 year career in higher education, she has aligned herself in support of and service to a number of TRIO Programs, including the Graduate and Professional Opportunities Program (now known as the McNair Fellows Program), Talent Search, Upward Bound, GEAR-UP, and Bridge programs.
An Upward Bound graduate herself, she was a recent recipient of the NEOA (New England Education Opportunities Association) Achiever Award. Outside of her work in the field of enrollment management, she has worked with the residence life programs at Kent State University, Brandeis University, and Wellesley College. Arlene has served on a number of advisory committees and boards working to assist students, counselors, organizations, and colleges in their efforts to improve college access and the college-going rate of all students, with a particular focus on first generation students and students of color.
She is an active member of the National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC) where she has served on regional and national committees and as co-director of their CHIEF Enrollment Managers seminar. She was an assembly delegate for a number of years, served on their ethics and best practices review committee and has presented at several of their local and national conferences. As a member of the College Board, she served on the College Scholarship Services Council and has presented at their national and regional forums. Recently she served on the College Board’s Commission on Access, Admissions and Success in Higher Education and their Task Force on Admissions in the 21st Century.
Throughout her career, Arlene has been asked to provide commentary on the state of college admissions and the barriers created by the complexity of the process on NPR (Talk of the Nation), PBS (Series on College Admissions), and most recently, the Today Show with several colleagues. She has also shared her commentary in a number of print publications. Arlene is a strong advocate for college access that leads to student success.
At home, she has 3 sons, Eric (a sophomore at Morehouse College) 20, Winston, 17, and David, 13 and a devoted husband of 24 years, Rick, who has patiently supported her throughout her career. She enjoys theatre, jazz and classical music, and a walk on the beach.
