John Morganelli Jr. has been named the new director of admissions for the College of Arts & Sciences. In his role, he is responsible for overseeing all undergraduate admissions activities of the college — developing a plan to identify, recruit, select and yield the top applicants for whom Cornell is the best fit.
“I believe in educational access. I believe that outstanding educational opportunities are only worthwhile if they are accessible to all motivated learners,” Morganelli said. “I am grateful for the opportunity to work at a world-class university that embodies these same educational values.”
The position is a new one for the college’s admissions and advising office, which went through a reorganization this spring to better serve the needs of current and future students. Under the new plan, the college created Morganelli’s position, as well as a new director of advising, which has yet to be filled. The college also plans to expand the position of associate dean of undergraduate education to include more oversight over curriculum governance, as well as admissions and advising. A tenured faculty member will be appointed to this new role. Until the reorganization is complete, the directors of admissions and advising will report directly to the dean of the college.
As director of admissions, Morganelli said there are many strategies the college can use to recruit and yield the best students for the College from the more than 19,000 students who apply each year to Arts & Sciences.
“The competition for passionate and intellectually curious learners is fierce,” he said. “Our job as recruiters is to articulate the uniquely explorative educational opportunity available to students in the College of Arts & Sciences at Cornell University. Our job in the admissions selection committees is to find students who will continue to be catalysts for positive change in our educational community.”
Prior to beginning at Cornell, Morganelli spent four years as senior associate director of admissions at Lehigh University. Prior to that, he spent one year as associate director of admissions at Moravian College. He has a bachelor’s degree in communications and political science from Villanova University and a master of education degree from Lehigh University.