Cornell University Provost Don M. Randel today (May 1) announced he is recommending the appointment of Donald A. Saleh as dean of admissions and financial aid.

Saleh, whose appointment will be presented for approval at the May meeting of the Board of Trustees, has been acting dean of admissions and financial aid since July 1994. He succeeded former Dean Susan H. Murphy, who was named vice president for student and academic services.

"I am very pleased to announce this key appointment to my senior management team," Randel said. "Don Saleh brings to this position a wealth of experience, including 14 years of service to Cornell. He has a strong background in the issues we in higher education face today in admissions and financial aid policy, and he has the leadership qualities needed to advance us in these key areas. Equally important, he has demonstrated a strong commitment to the financial and educational well-being of our students."

As dean of admissions and financial aid Saleh is responsible for the coordination of all undergraduate admissions efforts, for the oversight of undergraduate financial aid programs and for policies affecting these areas.

"I am excited about the opportunity to serve Cornell as its dean of admissions and financial aid," Saleh said. "As one of the nation's premier institutions, Cornell attracts and enrolls some of the best students in the country. My role is to help maintain and improve the strong position that we currently enjoy in the admissions marketplace, and to ensure that our financial aid programs support our enrollment and retention goals. Cornell has a very talented and professional staff in the admissions and financial aid offices. Their efforts have been highly successful in recent years and I look forward to this opportunity to lead their efforts in the years ahead."

Saleh said that as dean he would like to increase the number of qualified minority students that Cornell enrolls each year. "This is clearly the most important and most challenging of our goals," he said. "We need to make significant increases in our enrollment of African American and American Indian students. We already have made measurable progress in increasing the number of Hispanic students we enroll each year. There is still need for improvement in this area, but we are clearly headed in the right direction."

Saleh listed a number of other goals and priorities for the coming months, including:

" Emphasizing the customer service orientation of the staff. "This is an historic strength of the division, but we need to continue to improve. The service expectations of prospective and current students change with changes in technology. We need to be sure that our expectations of ourselves meet our customers' expectations."

" Increasing the number of qualified transfer students who apply and subsequently enroll each year. " Focusing attention on the role of financial aid in the retention of students. "Our goal is to not lose any student due to a financial problem that we have caused or that we can assist with."

" Working with the development office to continue the very successful fund-raising efforts that support student financial aid. "Our alumni have become very aware of the importance of financial aid in maintaining the high quality of our student body. They have responded with great support, and we need to build on that strong relationship." " "Maintaining the high level of interest and support that we receive from our alumni in our admissions efforts." Saleh received a bachelor of science degree in chemistry education from the State University College at Buffalo in 1973 and a master's degree in student personnel services in higher education from Kent State in 1976.

He taught seventh, eighth and ninth grade science in Buffalo for two years before joining the financial aid office at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. He left Bowling Green in 1982 as associate director of financial aid and student employment to join Cornell as deputy director of financial aid. He was appointed director of financial aid and student employment in 1985 and acting dean of admissions and financial aid in July 1994.

Saleh also has assumed a position of leadership nationally among financial aid administrators. He currently is serving as vice chair and chair-elect, College Scholarship Service Assembly, 1995-97. He also is chair of the Financial Aid Standards & Services Advisory Committee, 1993-96. Most recently he served as national representative to the College Scholarship Service Council, 1992-95, among other professional affiliations.