Steve Mencarini, who has served as Dean of Students at Guilford College since 2018, will lead the Enrollment Division as Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management and Retention as of mid-June. President Kyle Farmbry announced the appointment June 3.
Steve succeeds Kyle Wooden ’11, who worked in Admission at Guilford for 12 years. Kyle started as an Admission counselor in 2012 and held three other leadership positions in the division. He is taking a position on the Enrollment team at High Point University.
As Associate Vice President, Steve will develop and implement strategies to attract, enroll and retain a diverse student body. He will manage the Admission and Financial Aid teams and oversee the recruitment of new undergraduate and graduate students, transfers, Continuing Education students and readmitted students. He will work with colleagues across the institution to strengthen the retention of current students.
Provost Maria Rosales will soon announce new opportunities and a shifting of responsibilities for team members in her area after Steve leaves the Dean of Students position. Student Affairs has been a part of the Provost’s Division at Guilford since 2018.
“I consider it very fortunate for Guilford that Steve has agreed to take on his new role in Enrollment. He brings a holistic perspective to the relationship between the College and students from the inquiry phase to graduation, with a focus on increasing our retention rate,” said Kyle Farmbry.
“As Dean of Students, Steve has been integrally involved with creating and managing the student experience,” he added. “This move ensures continuity in two critical areas at Guilford, Admission and Student Affairs, and is strengthened by his understanding of Admission work.”
Steve taught an Enrollment Management course in the Master’s of Higher Education program at Elon University this spring and managed an admission-based leadership program when he was on staff at Elon from 2010-16. He was an admission counselor for a year at the College of William & Mary, his undergraduate alma mater.
Steve joined Guilford in 2016 and was promoted to Dean of Students after serving two years as Associate Dean. His responsibilities included facilitating student registration and retention, student leadership and engagement, counseling and health services, wellness, accessibility resources, intercultural engagement, residence life, public safety, students of concern, dining services and bookstore.
Prior to Guilford, he was Director of the Center for Leadership and Director of the Isabella Cannon Leadership Fellows Program at Elon. He held Student Affairs positions at Gonzaga University (Wash.), the University of Maryland, College Park, and Lake Forest College (Ill.).
Steve earned a bachelor’s degree in Biology at William & Mary, a master’s degree in Counseling and Personnel Services at the University of Maryland and a doctorate in Educational Studies (Higher Education concentration) at UNC Greensboro.
In recognizing Kyle Wooden, President Farmbry stated, “I’m grateful for Kyle’s outstanding work at Guilford over the past 12 years, and especially that he and his team have delivered three consecutive first year classes of approximately 400 students, post-COVID. He is a good leader and a dedicated alumnus, and we wish him success in his new opportunity.”