UT Tyler Office of Marketing and Communications

UT Tyler Names David Barron New AVP for Enrollment

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October 2, 2019

Media Contact: Beverley Golden
Senior Director of Media Relations
Marketing and Communications
The University of Texas at Tyler
903.566.7303

The University of Texas at Tyler announced today that David Barron will be the new associate vice president for enrollment management. Barron was most recently the associate vice president for enrollment services at Augusta University in Georgia.

"We are pleased to add David Barron to our executive team. He has years of experience in leadership capacities at various universities across the country, and I'm confident that he will do a great job of helping UT Tyler enter its next phase of growth," said Dr. Michael Tidwell, UT Tyler president. 

At Augusta University, Barron set numerous enrollment records, including successfully growing freshman classes while also growing the academic qualifications of entering students. He brings that expertise to UT Tyler where he will supervise undergraduate enrollment, financial aid and scholarships, the enrollment services center and other related units.

In four years, Barron led the Augusta University enrollment team to record increases in freshman applications, acceptances and enrollment for fall 2017, 2018 and 2019. Under his leadership, the team had the largest first-time, full-time freshman cohort in the institution's history for two consecutive years.

"I am excited to be working with the outstanding leadership and staff at UT Tyler," Barron said. "There is so much potential at UT Tyler to provide a transformational educational experience for our students and contribute to the growth and development of our East Texas community."

The past two years, UT Tyler has focused on improving its retention and graduation rates. The University set a retention record with 76 percent of freshman students returning for a second year, graduated almost 3,000 students last year and was recognized by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board as one of the state's top improvers in graduation rates.

"We have made great strides in our retention and graduation initiatives, so we are in a great position to focus on our growth strategy," Tidwell said.

One of the University's new initiatives is the Top 25 percent auto admission policy. While most public institutions automatically admit students in the top 10 percent of their classes, UT Tyler is expanding that to include those in the top 11 to 25 percent.

"Data suggests that students in the top 11 to 25 five percent who enroll at UT Tyler perform as well, if not better than, those in the top 10 percent," said Tidwell. "Our Top 25 Percent program is an opportunity to keep those high-academic performing students in the region."

A member of the prestigious UT System, The University of Texas at Tyler focuses on student success and innovative research in the more than 80 undergraduate and graduate degree programs offered. With nearly 10,000 students, UT Tyler has facilities in Tyler, Longview, Palestine and Houston.