Skidmore College Names New Vice President For Enrollment, Dean Of Admissions

Jessica Ricker, with over 20 years of experience in admissions and enrollment management at liberal arts colleges, will join Skidmore College as its next vice president for enrollment and dean of admissions and financial aid on June 5. 

She will lead an integrated and collaborative enrollment management approach for the College, continuing Skidmore’s consistently strong performance in admissions and financial aid support, college officials said.

“Throughout her career, Jess Ricker has repeatedly demonstrated the ability and genuine drive to apply a creative vision to all she does—an ethos that will benefit the entire Skidmore community,” said college President Marc Conner, who chaired the search committee. “Her commitment to amplifying student voices and supporting historically marginalized groups will help ensure Skidmore continues to create a diverse, equitable, and inclusive liberal arts experience for all.”  

Ricker has served as dean and director of admissions at Wellesley College since 2018 and recently served as the interim dean of admissions and financial aid. Before joining Wellesley, she worked in admissions at Connecticut College for 18 years in various capacities. She holds a Master of Arts degree in psychology and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Connecticut College.  

At Wellesley, Ricker led a staff of 20 and oversaw admissions operations, including student recruitment, application review, marketing and communications, customer service, data analysis and reporting, event management, and staff development. 

In 2022, she was the recipient of an Agent of Innovation achievement award, given each year to an outstanding member of Wellesley’s staff who has demonstrated the use of innovative ideas, approaches, or techniques in their work. She also initiated and led a yearlong assessment of implicit bias among staff, policy, and processes across the Admission and Student Financial Services Division and devised an equitable, mission-driven application review and selection process.  

Ricker says she looks forward to partnering broadly to recruit, enroll, and support students at Skidmore.  

“I’m elated to join the Skidmore community in June. Institutional mission has always been of paramount importance to me, especially the commitment to financial aid and inclusive excellence,” she said. “As a first-generation college student from the Midwest, generous need-based aid and Pell grants made it possible for me to have a transformational liberal arts college experience. It will be an honor and a privilege to contribute my passion and skills to the great work already being done at Skidmore.” 

Ricker will succeed Mary Lou Bates, who will retire at the end of the 2022-23 academic year after 49 years with the college.

The national search was assisted by WittKieffer, a global executive search and leadership advisory firm.