Dr. Bruce Walker, vice provost and director of admissions at The University of Texas at Austin, will leave that position July 15 to become the university’s vice provost for special projects, focusing on a range of assignments while concluding a national leadership role developing training materials for admissions officers through his work with the College Board.
Provost Steven Leslie said Walker, considered one of the leading admissions directors in the country, has played a key role in helping the university become a more diverse campus and has instituted a holistic review process that brings the full range of student characteristics into the admission process. Walker believes this is a good point to allow a new admissions director the opportunity to implement the newly passed Top 10 Percent rules, he said.
“Bruce is a real professional who has organized an admissions process viewed nationally as outstanding,” Leslie said. “I look forward to working with him now in his new role as vice provost for special projects.”
Leslie said Dr. Kedra Ishop, associate director of admissions, will be interim vice provost and director of admissions while a search is conducted to fill the admissions director position.
“Kedra is well prepared to take the lead in our Admissions Office,” he said. “She has had numerous leadership responsibilities relating to admissions in Texas and nationally, and I look forward to working with her as she assumes her important new responsibilities.”
Walker, 69, who has been the university’s director of admissions since 1996, said during the past couple of years he had considered stepping down as director of admissions but there was always a major project or a new initiative that had kept him from taking that step.
With the Texas Legislature’s recent change of the Top 10 Percent Law allowing the university greater flexibility in the admissions process it seems like a good time to step aside, Walker said.
“It is a good time to do it because we have a great staff,” Walker said. “This is a fantastic staff with a great capacity for work and change.”
He expressed confidence in Ishop’s ability to inspire and move the admissions staff forward.
“I love the university and working in the Provost’s Office,” Walker said. “It’s time for me to move on to something new and I want to continue to serve the university in other ways if there’s something I can contribute. After having worked in the Provost’s Office the past 13 years, I’ve found there’s more than enough work to do in advancing the academic mission of the university and rarely are there enough human resources to get everything done. I can be that ‘designated hitter’ within the Provost’s Office who can give full attention to short-term projects that need a focused effort to bring about resolution.”
