Robert Lay

Dean of Enrollment Management
Boston College (Chestnut Hill, MA)

Bob Lay has been a practitioner of enrollment management for nearly 40 years, and for over 35 years at Boston College, where he and his colleagues conceived many current enrollment management concepts and practices. (The term itself was first coined at Boston College in 1974.)

Previously a university lecturer at University of Wisconsin Madison and at Boston College, Bob has incorporated sociological research methods in developing enrollment analytics for research-based decision making. He is a proponent of integrated student marketing communications closely coupled with programming for academic excellence. In addition to authoring many articles on enrollment issues, Bob has edited a volume with Jean Endo entitled Designing and Using Market Research (Jossey-Bass, 1987).

The past President of the Northeast Association for Institutional Research, and now active in AJCU, AIR, AACRAO, NACAC, and CEEB, Bob served for 18 years and as chair and for two years on the Deans Advisory Committee to US News and World Report. Bob co-founded the National Council for Enrollment Policy and Practice. More recently, Bob served on the National Task Force on Admissions in the 21st Century, and has co-founded the Enrollment Planning Network composed of private research-extensive universities. He has currently launched, with the World Leading Schools Association, the College Admission Network (where he serves as Chair) to work with elite secondary schools with a particular focus on the top high schools in Mainland China.