Vern Granger was named director of admissions at University of Connecticut. Prior, he served as executive director in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at Ohio State. In that role, he developed a worldwide outreach program to high-achieving and diverse students. During his tenure, Ohio State saw increases in important measures, including academic quality, access, geographic diversity, and racial and ethnic diversity.
Before that, he was the assistant dean of enrollment services and director of admission at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville from 2009 to 2012, and was the senior associate director of admissions at North Carolina State University from 1998 to 2009.
Regarding his new role, Granger said in an interview with UConn Today, “When I visited UConn, I could feel the positive energy and saw a university ready to take the next step. I could see it through the construction, but I heard it in the conversation. I heard about how important access and diversity was. I heard about becoming even more of a national brand. The conversations made it clear to me that UConn is ready to take things to the next level, as there is a solid foundation in place in order to make that happen.
“I keep hearing from colleagues that one of UConn’s strengths is this intensely collaborative environment,” he adds. “Then, on my visit, I really saw how people take that seriously – how important it is to work together. Not one person or one office can do it alone. You don’t see that at a lot of large public universities.”
A member of the National Association of College Admissions Counseling (NACAC) and NAFSA: Association of International Educators, Granger earned his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina-Wilmington and holds a master’s degree from North Carolina State.
