Lawrenceville School Introduces New Dean Of Enrollment

LAWRENCE TOWNSHIP, NJ - Gregory B. Buckles has been named the Shelby M. C. Davis Dean of Enrollment Management at The Lawrenceville School, the school announced. Buckles, who currently serves as the Dean of Admissions at Middlebury College in Vermont, will begin his work at the School on July 1.

Buckles’s duties will include setting the strategic direction for the school’s enrollment and financial aid goals as well as recruiting and admission operations. He has three decades of experience as an educator and an administrator.

Since Buckles joined the staff at Middlebury in 2008 as its Director of Admissions, applications to the college have increased 32 percent, which represents the largest application pools in the college’s history. He was elevated to Dean of Admissions in 2011.

During his tenure at Middlebury, Buckles built classes of admitted students that reached the college’s historical highs over the past four years with regard to students of color, first-generation students, international applicants, average academic rating, and average standardized testing.

Prior to Middlebury, Buckles served as the Director of Admissions at Kenyon College – his second stint at the institution – and has also worked in admissions at Denison University, but is just as steeped in the independent school world.

From 1996 to 2007, Buckles was an Assistant Headmaster at the Hill School, serving as a senior staff member with individual responsibility for planning, directing, and marketing all aspects of the School’s college advising, admission, enrollment, and financial aid programs.

He also taught English, was a dormitory floor master, and coached wrestling and football for five years at Loomis Chaffee School. Buckles is a graduate of Denison University and earned an M.A. in literature from Trinity College in Connecticut.

“I have spent my career thinking about, visiting, and evaluating schools throughout the world, and a significant part of my attraction to Lawrenceville is its status as one of the country’s most exceptional schools,” Buckles said. “I began my career as a triple-threat faculty member at Loomis Chaffee in 1984, and I love the idea of coming full-circle in 2019.”

“In making our determination from a field of highly qualified professionals, Greg particularly stood out as a national-caliber leader in enrollment management and admissions,” Lawrenceville Head Master Stephen S. Murray said. “We recognize the imperative of moving beyond a more traditional admissions model and are fully committed to adopting a proactive, market-oriented recruitment strategy that anticipates rapidly shifting demographics and educational attitudes.”

“Greg brings an extraordinary level of expertise and sophistication in this area, alongside his warm personal touch and a preference for handwritten notes over emails,” Murray said. “Above all, I might add, Greg has a sterling reputation for integrity and fairness, and an excellent sense of humor.”

“Greg brings a wealth of experience at one of the leading colleges in the country along with significant positions of responsibility in boarding school environments earlier in his career,” Lawrenceville School Board of Trustees President Michael S. Chae said. “He will be an outstanding addition to the extraordinarily talented senior team working with Head Master Murray to lead Lawrenceville to even greater success in the coming years.”

Founded in 1810, The Lawrenceville School is located on 700 acres in the historic village of Lawrenceville, New Jersey. The School currently serves 817 students from 30 states and 34 countries.

The attached image was provided by The Lawrenceville School: Greg Buckles, incoming Shelby M. C. Davis Dean of Enrollment Management at The Lawrenceville School. Credit: Middlebury.org.